Consequences
by Alias Enigma
Summary: Kent and Fiora were friends once. But they thought they could love each other. So they slept together. And after that, they could barley look at each other. But with so much war in their lives, being alone became impossible. They had to face each other.
1. No Choice

WARNING:

RANTING ALEART! FOR STORY, SKIP PAST AUTHOR'S MINDLESS GIBBERISH BY MOVING YOUR EYES DOWN TO THE WORD "ONWARD!" AND FROM THERE, READ THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LIKE YOU WERE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL, (and "school" does not include that creepy substitute you had when you were 8 years old, who told you homophones and homonyms are an abomination to God and are ruining the sanctity of marriage.)

Well, here we are at the second part of the fic that I loved writing so much that I simply had to make a sequel that continued and finished it's story. The incredibly devout Kent/Fiora fan that I am can only hope that this fic will please everyone who reads this as much as the last one did. Besides, Kent and Fiora are such a great couple that it was a shame to just leave them with yet another story that explained no more than how they got together and almost nothing of what followed afterward.

So essentially, this fic is all about the rest of the journey from Kent and Fiora's perspective. Unlike Irony, this fic isn't really based around any theme of what I thought happened during this or that, rather it's just a uniformly polished off group of ideas that I put together to make a really good romance/war/tragety/revenge/drama/philosophical Fire Emblem fanfic. (Wow, I'm touching a lot of bases here, aren't I?) In other words, to the best of my abilities, I've tried to come up with what I believe to be canon material. (look that word up if you don't get what I mean.)

BTW, the main reason for my posting of this story NOW, is because I've been working on it for a bit over a year, and at first, I didn't want to post anything before I had it all completed. But it's gotten to the point where I'm thinking, "It's good enough, just post the damn thing already! You're not a god, you can't mass produce perfection! At least polish off the first chapter!" In other words, expect possible delays of the posting of additional chapters some time in the future.

Also, a bit of informative notes here...

#1, morphs in this fic shall not be referred to as 'he's or 'she's, but instead will be referred to as 'it's, because they... well... aren't really people you know.

#2, the rating of this fic is only threatened with going higher by the level of violence in it, and yes, perhaps a bit of what the MPAA refers to as "adult situations" (a vague term which encompasses anything a 5-year-old can't comprehend) though there will be no lemons, so those of you who may have been expecting some masturbatory aid can step aside. Glares at the wicked ones!

And #3: DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, or it's respective characters. But in this piece of fanfiction, a story that I will make no money off of, I can do whatever I want with the Fire Emblem universe. And in this fic I shall not deface the name of the FE series with excessive foul language, mindless lemons, (or lemons in general for that matter) insanity, or fart jokes. (even though I think that last one can be funny on occasion! xD) Enjoy!

ONWARD!

Kent slowly peeled open his eyes as he awoke from one of the most comfortable night of sleep he'd had in a long time. Guest rooms at Castle Ostia after all, did tend to be a bit on the luxurious side. His most primitive and instinctive thoughts were the first to surface and they momentarily took control of him. _Want more sleep..._ He thought lazily as he quickly closed his eyes, _just a bit more... I'm comfortable here..._ He rolled over to find a slightly more preferable sleeping position. He felt some warm air blow gently upon him. He opened his eyes, and found himself nose to nose with Fiora's peacefully sleeping face. His eyes burst open and he quickly jerked back, _Wha-! Why's she-!? ... Oh... right... Now I remember._ His pounding heart swallowed back down into his chest, he quickly took note of how well he could see her face, and glanced back over his shoulder out the small window in the stone wall. He couldn't remember which direction this part of Castle Ostia was facing, nor could he see the sun, but he could tell that it must be between mid and late morning. He had overslept. He turned back over to Fiora and found her eyes looking right at him. "Hello, Kent." she whispered with a small smile.

His expression softened as he saw the two sparkling blue oceans that were her eyes. "Good morning, Fiora." He replied, with a bit of a yawn, trying his very best not to let his eyes linger upon her features for too long. When he looked back at her though, she was right in the middle of the contagious jaw-stretching action. When her mouth finally closed, her eyes followed suit, she moved some of the hair out of her face, and laid her head back down. _She's so beautiful..._ He quickly banished the thought from his mind, and it was no more. "Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"I was beginning to forget what a real bed felt like." She spoke as she closed her eyes and stretched her neck. She subconsciously reached beneath her shirt and scratched her right shoulder like she did every morning, perhaps as an effect of the bones in it once being so thoroughly shattered. Her sight plunged down into the pillow and she muttered as if in regret, "I'm... ummm... sorry I had to bother you last night."

"I-It's alright," Kent quickly assured her, the faintest hue of red creeping into his cheeks, "I'm... actually glad that you did."

She looked back up, "Really...?"

"Y- yes." It was his turn to look downward. He still couldn't figure out how to talk to her. _After nearly a month... ... it happened almost a month ago, and I still didn't know how to talk to her!_

While they had not seen battle for quite some time, Kent and Fiora had been crossing from one end of the continent to the next with the rest of the party to find some of the legendary weapons for Hector and Eliwood. It was mostly simple traveling, fast paced at times, almost always on the move, but for the most part Kent and Fiora -- as well as the rest of the company for that matter -- were given a bit of a lucky break from the ways of war. It had been a little more than three weeks since the night Kent and Fiora had had their little encounter. Three weeks since the night that they let their emotions run wild and free. Three weeks since a ripple the size of a mountain had torn through the still pool of their lives. And today, it had been a bit under three weeks since they had so much as held hands. The ecstasy and almost impossibly heated love and desire they shared for each other had cooled quite quickly. In fact, it wasn't long before they reverted back to the they had before; one based around working together, following orders dutifully, and having a rather close-knit friendship beneath all that. But both of them knew all to well, almost fearfully, that there was more to it than that.

They kept the entire incident a secret, of course. They acted like friends in front of the others, and when they were by themselves as well. In fact, the only thing about them that really changed, was that now they did do a lot more talking. Not just the casual talk they made before, but long, engaging and fulfilling conversations that they could be completely open to each other about. They talked about the battles they had won along the journey, of the ways in which they had learned how to fight and become the warriors they were, and even their childhoods from time to time. They got to know one another better than they had before, but that was it. It was a rather carefree time for them and the rest of the party, untainted by the war that they were apart of, and it was a time for them all to get a well-deserved break from the bitter ways of battle.

Then Ninian died. It was a shock to every member of the party, especially Eliwood who blamed himself for her death, and everyone once again became suddenly aware of how treacherous their journey was going to be. It was a hard, cold, slap in the face of reality that reminded everyone just how far Nergal would actually go to make this journey difficult for them.

It was decided that they should travel to Ostia to regroup and stock up on supplies that they were quickly running low on. Everyone had been given their own separate rooms in castle Ostia; and as late as they arrived, everyone just went straight to sleep. Fiora however, was troubled. As quiet and timid as their relationship (if it could be called that) was, she had gotten used to having Kent close to her; always nearby for not much of any reason other than just being there. And at night, it was a very comforting thought that he was always in her sight, and never more than a few steps away. So when Fiora had been given a room of her own, she found that being at peace was almost impossible without Kent's presence. She traveled the cold, tall hallways of the castle when the night was still young, and crept to the entrance of his room, and when she came to his door, it opened before she could lay a finger upon it to revel Kent just inside; surprised, yet at the same time glad to see her there. He offered for her to stay before she could even ask. She knew that it was a bit much, and both of them had been hesitant to take such a step, but they crawled into bed together, albeit as far apart as was possible, and somehow finally found sleep.

"Don't worry about it Kent." Fiora replied after a sigh and a wee bit of silence. She sat up and stretched her arms up high, trying to get her mind focused on other things.

"I know I'm not fully used to it yet Fiora," He said as he mimicked her stretching, "but I must admit that your being near me is not a... _dis_comfort..." He new it sounded feeble. What was he doing? Hiding from her, or himself?

She felt a light touch on her shoulder, and she lowered her arms. "Kent..." She whispered so quietly that he didn't hear. _What's he doing? Why is he touching me?_

_He's not hurting me. There's nothing wrong with this... is there?_

_He shouldn't be touching me... not like this. This is wrong!_

Her eyes closed and for a moment there was an awkward stillness that seized the air as if holding it for ransom.

Finally, in the blink of an eye, Fiora jumped out of the bed and landed her feet on the stone floor. Her hair landed in a twirl about her face and she raised a hand to her forehead to clear it. But the blush on her face was turing out to be a difficult thing to hide. Almost unfazed by the explosion of movement that had just taken place before him, Kent looked back at her with solemn eyes and said, "I... I'm sorry Fiora..."

With a deep exhale, she relaxed her body some more and whispered, "No... It's O.K..." The morning peace hopelessly broken, they remained sitting and standing for a while. The silence became unbearably awkward. "I should... umm..." She muttered as she ran her fingers through her hair, "probably get back to my room before someone finds me missing."

"I'll walk you there..." Kent offered.

Her face softened, as if in relief more than anything else, "Thanks..." Kent got out of bed and walked up beside her. They shared a lasting glance before quickly turning away and their eyes became focused ahead of them. The door-handle lifted from it's hinge in the wall. They stepped away from each other on instinct, but the door flung wide open, revealing a red-clad soldier flanked by three golden-eyed archers who let loose a small volley of readied arrows at them. Kent and Fiora jumped off to the side as quickly as they could, banging into the wall in the process. Kent ran for the door, kicked the soldier back, slammed the door shut before the archers could notch more arrows, and locked it's bolt closed. Fiora was already pushing a large dresser against the wall over the door. Kent helped her, and they shoved it in place as best they could before a thumping was heard on the only way in or out of the room. They both leaned against the crude bulwark and Fiora looked to the corner of the room where the arrows had been shot, and saw only two lying on the floor. "Kent," She spoke, her heart racing from the surprise attack, "how many archers were there?"

"Three." He grunted below her. Fiora looked down and gasped when she saw him sitting on the floor, holding his leg in pain. An arrow was lodged in his thigh.

She knelt down beside him and looked at the wooden shaft; it was half way through his right leg. "It has to come out!" She said hastily, grabbing the end of it and causing him to instantly spasm and cry out in pain.

After a bit of hyperventilating and convincing himself of what he had to go through, he answered her through clenched teeth, "Do it." the pounding on the door became more persistent, "Do it now, quickly!" She grabbed the end with the arrow head and swiftly snapped the slightly barbed end off, causing his body to tense in pain and his voice to utter a short grunt. Fiora quickly ran over to the bedside and tore a long strip off one of the sheets before returning to him. She knew what she had to do, though she didn't want to do it.

"This is going to hurt..." She said. The banging on the door grew louder.

"I trust you..." He responded, closing his eyes as she yanked the arrow out, causing more blood to come from the wound, and this time a full yell to burst from his mouth. Fiora quickly wrapped the opening in his leg in the cloth as tightly as she could, and tied it off.

"My equipment is still in my room!" She said as she helped him to his feet.

"Then at least take my sword!" Kent said as he pushed his weight against the dresser, favoring his other leg. "It's sheathed by my armor under the bed!" he explained quickly, but she was already tightening the belt of the scabbard around her waist. Once she had finished, she brought him his gauntlets and tightened one fastening as he adjusted the other with his free hand. They did this with his left arm and then his right, and then proceeded to strap him into his breastplate; all the while their bodies were pushed against their crude barricade that was perpetually being rammed into and left a ringing in both their ears.

Fiora had just finished with the last of his shoulder guards and was about to start applying his greaves, when they both heard the thumping stop. They turned around in the direction of the dresser, and it rocked forward slightly as they heard the sound of shattering wood. Fiora drew the steel at her side as they both backed away from the door, knowing that a wooden barricade could not stand against their attackers if they had axes. As Kent picked up his shield he looked at it with worry in his eyes. _This is going to be my only weapon..._ He looked over to Fiora and noticed that she had used his sword to chop off two of the wooden bed posts, and was offering them to him. They were thick and blunt at one end, but narrowed into a point at the other that was only intended to be used as decoration. They would be much better than next to nothing. "Thank you." he said as he took one in each hand, and mounted his shield on his forearm, "Who do you think they are?"

"I'm not sure how they got here," Fiora responded with her sword at the ready while the chopping and thrashing at the door intensified, "but, by the look of their golden eyes, I'd say they were morphs." Kent sighed. This would be a difficult fight. He looked to her and she to him. Without warning or hesitation or even a drop of reason, they embraced. _This is the first battle I've faced since..._ they both thought, _and though your being here is an encouraging thought, I also fear the possibility of loss..._ They leaned back in their hug and looked each other right in the eyes. "Be strong..." Fiora whispered.

Kent smiled in spite of the scant traces of uncertainty looming inside both of them and replied, "We are..." Both the dresser and the door smashed down.

Fiora quickly ducked behind Kent as he crouched down as well, with his shield far out in front of him, deflecting a second small volley of three arrows. Kent immediately stood up and threw one of the pieces of wood at one of the archers, smacking it hard in the head. A soldier with a lance in hand stepped forward, followed at the heels by a hulking berserker that easily stood a good eight feet tall and at least half as broad, holding a large axe. The soldier took a powerful thrust at Kent who sidestepped the obvious attack, grabbed the shaft of the lance to hold it in place, and repeatedly bludgeoned the armored morph in the head with the remaining piece of wood that he had at his disposal. The berserker brought it's axe down on Kent, but Fiora blocked it with her sword, and quickly stabbed the large enemy in the unprotected gut, but that only made it turn on her. As Fiora swiftly evaded her enemy's attacks, Kent landed an elbow in the soldier's face before he finally drove the point of the piece of wood through it's eye, and the morph silently died. As he grabbed the lance from the dead hands, Kent suddenly felt two arrows deflect off his chest, and for the briefest of moments he contemplated on how badly he would have been wounded if Fiora hadn't helped him apply his armor. He brushed the thought aside, and as quickly as his injured leg would allow, he charged at the two remaining archers. As they backed away, each trying to notch another arrow, Kent stabbed through the body of the archer on the right with the new lance, and kicked away the bow of the other. He yelled in pain when his entire body's weight briefly fell on his wounded leg, but this was not a very convenient place to curl up on the floor and bawl his eyes out. The last remaining archer unsheathed a small knife at it's side, and was about to attack when Kent brought the lance around and stabbed for the heart, piercing through it's thick leather protector, but lodging his lance in there at the same time, causing him to lose his weapon for the moment.

"Kent!" Fiora called, and he whipped around and saw the bleeding back of the berserker who was still, amazingly, hacking away at Fiora. Thinking quickly, Kent grabbed one of the discarded bows and snapped the back in half. He ran to the last enemy, leapt from his good leg onto the morph's shoulders, looped the thin bowstring around his enemy's neck, and pulled it so taut that the skin broke without a single splash of blood. As the berserker dropped it's axe and reached for the one who was strangling it, Fiora chopped it's shin, and it fell to it's side. Kent continued to pull on both ends of the bowstring long enough for Fiora to stab right where a human heart would be. Just after the tip of the sword made a ringing contact with the stone floor beneath the morph's body, there was a moment of total silence and stillness. It's golden eyes faded out, and Kent and Fiora both let loose their pent up breath.

After Kent wiped some of the blood off his hands and sweat from his forehead, he finally uttered, "Thank you."

"Thank _you_." Fiora sighed as she wrenched her grip from the sword's handle. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying her best to take in all that had just happened. She started to stand up but quietly cried out in pain as she clutched her side. Kent quickly looked up and saw blood seep from between her fingers. "Ouch..." she muttered as Kent stumbled over to the bedside and tore a large strip off the sheets and began to wrap it around her abdomen. He could tell she was hiding most of the pain, perhaps as much as he was hiding his own pain now. "I thought it was only a glancing blow..." Fiora breathed as the makeshift bandages were wrapped around her.

"We can't stay here, more may be on the way." Kent said as he cautiously got to his feet. He closed his eyes intensely as he stood fully upright on his wounded leg. The blood had long since leaked through it's wrapping. He lent Fiora his arm and she took it as he helped lift her up. _Too much weight!_ He collapsed to the floor in a heap, feeling weak and feeble. Fiora grabbed whatever whole pieces of bedding there were left, and then picked up the very same arrow that had punctured Kent earlier.

"Come on," She said as she helped him sit up on something that had at one time or another been a recognizable wooden furnishing, "you _need_ a tourniquet."

"There's no time." He quickly insisted as he attempted to sit up. She pushed him back down and gave him a stern look.

"Then why do you keep stalling?" she asked, her eyebrow cocked. She wrapped the rag around where his leg connected with his hip, tied off an end, stuck the arrow through, and started to twist.

"Careful!" He couldn't help but cry out, as he grasped the other end of the arrow, "Something's going to come out of it's socket."

"Kent... It's me." She smiled, "Besides, I'm just stopping the blood-flow."

"Yeah..." He said with a half-hearted, single laugh, the best improvised response to humor he could ever come up with. She pulled the lance just outside the door into the room, and handed it to him before going back to fetch her sword from where it still stuck out of the corpse on the floor.

As he propped himself up on the long staff, Fiora placed his other arm over her shoulders. "Lean on me, we'll go faster this way." They ambled clumsily out of the room, using each other equally for support, and looked down the hall to the right, and then to the left. "If my memory serves me right," Fiora stated as she turned herself and Kent to the right, "the castle garrison should be this way."

Their pace was slow, but they were making progress. They had traveled a total of about 20 meters, half the distance from the intersection at the end, when Fiora looked up.

_Oh, no..._

There were four shaman and twice as many archers that had just appeared out of nowhere. They didn't come from the left or right, they just appeared. _We have no choice... we have to fight... ... No... suicide... ...!_

"Run Kent. RUN!" She yelled as he looked up just in time to see the archers pulling back their arrows, and the shaman conjuring up dark magic in their hands. _Not good, not good, not good! Faster, go faster! We're moving too fast for them! We'll be out of range by the time they-!_ They turned around and had barely taken one step when they heard the whistling of a single arrow, followed closely by a volley of them. Fiora clutched Kent's hand, and he held her close to him. They had stopped moving. There was no longer any point. Fiora waited for the pain to come, waited for both their bodies to be pierced countlessly and then to be torn apart by magic. She had no choice but to accept her fate. _But at least..._

It never came.

They waited for only a second or two before they heard a crack of thunder, and for only an instant, the high corridors of the entire hallway were totally flooded by light. They turned around to see Pent inspecting the steaming corpse of one of the fallen archers who had an arrow sticking out of it's head. Louise followed him with an arrow at the ready and noticed Kent and Fiora off to her left. She trained the bow on them at first but after a quick double-take, during which she didn't take her eyes off her target once, she realized who they were and called to her husband, "Look Pent! They were aiming at these two!"

Pent looked up and, noticing the way they were leaning on each other like a pair of synchronously chopped down trees, pulled out a mend staff as he ran towards them calling, "Well if I had known that we had injured comrades waiting, I would have been quicker with my smiting of these intruders!"

Louise followed in at his heels with an arrow still at the ready and replied to her husband, "But dearest, you are always quick with your smiting!" and she laughed almost happily despite their surroundings, which were for the most part furnished with corpses.

More than a bit overwhelmed by the sudden near-death experience, closely followed by such an unexpected rescue, and to say nothing of their injuries which were still quite severe, Kent and Fiora both nearly telescoped as they fell against the wall. "You two certainly look a pretty mess! It looks like you really gave them some hell though! Ah! What am I going off on? Time is short. I'll have to heal you both at once. Just sit down and relax, I'll do the rest." They obeyed and adjusted themselves into slightly more comfortable positions as Pent began muttering the incantations under his breath. Soon, a blue light covered both their wounds.

"Do you have any idea what's going on here?" Fiora asked Louise as she lost all feeling in her side.

"Well," The purple-eyed sniper replied, "I'm not sure exactly, but I believe that these morphs are somehow teleporting in and causing havoc throughout the castle. It's the most impressive siege tactics I've ever seen! I suppose that it started this morning when Pent and I had our door smashed down while we were sleeping. I mean really! No warning, no heads-up of any kind, they took us completely by surprise! These morphs have no honor if they would break down the door of a sleeping couple and then let loose some arrows upon us! Fortunately, my wonderful hero of a husband," She hugged Pent warmly as he continued to mutter the incantations with a new smile pulling at the corners of his lips, "torched all their arrows before they could reach us. He held the rest of them off long enough for us both to get fully equipped and readied for battle. We had actually just left our room when we saw quite a large group of archers and shaman off to our left, aiming down a hallway. We heard someone yell, so I immediately let loose with an arrow or two before Pent finished off the rest. And here we are!"

"There, finished." Pent said, right on cue, "Now usually in a situation like this, I'd have you both relax for a bit, but we must be off to see if we can be of aid to the others. Oh, and Kent, the next time you put on a tourniquet, it needs to be tighter if you expect it to do you any good, and also, be a bit more careful when you apply one right there. If you're not, you could loose a good deal more than blood-flow in your leg!"

"Well, I'm not fully equipped yet," Kent declared rather quickly after such a comment, as he and Fiora got to their feet, "I'm still missing some of my armor, not to mention my horse."

"I'm ill prepared as well." Fiora added, "All of my equipment is all the way over in my ro-"

"Actually," Pent interrupted, "that's one thing I was puzzling over just now, Fiora. How did you end up all the way over here at this end of the castle? Your room is located in the East Wing is it not?" Needless to say, this simple question was followed by a silence that was a good deal more than awkward for at least one party involved.

"Well... Er... I..." Fiora's mind was franticly trying to come up with a plausible answer, at the same time doing her very best to suppress the intense blush welling up inside her. Here she was, all alone with no one, not even Kent, to help her out. After a moment of trying to 'remember' she stated in a rather hurried, yet not very improvised sounding voice, "Well... to be honest, it's really quite a long story. Maybe I'll tell you some time later, but for now it would be best if I were to get back to my room and more properly equip myself. Kent, you should do the same. Pent, I'm afraid I'll need to borrow your wife for a moment to protect me as I get myself prepared. We'll all meet up near the stables, find the others, and fight back these attackers. Come on, Louise!" She drew the sword at her side and ran down he hallway with Louise following her lead, leaving the two wide-eyed men in their wake.

_What do Kent and I have to hide? _She thought as she traveled the corridors,_ Would it be so unacceptable if the others knew how things were between us? Would it be so unacceptable, especially in the eyes of a married couple such as Pent and Louise?_

_Probably. The others would treat us differently. They'd think, 'So _THAT'S_ why they've been sharing a tent all this time: just so they could sleep together! Interesting how they would lie to so many just to have a relationship that we would have undoubtedly accepted!'_

In her mind Fiora knew her theory was far-fetched, but it was not worth taking the risk. She kept on running; her room wasn't far. If there were any enemies along the way, then the best thing her and Louise could do would be to run, but the corridors were devoid of life thus far. Fiora smiled inwardly; realizing that for the first time in what must have been almost a year, her leadership instincts had kicked in and the strategic and tactical aspects of battle suddenly became extremely vivid to her.

Fiora eventually came to the doorway of her room and found it's door was wide open, and a few arrows sticking out of her bed inside. Louise was close behind her and muttered, "I trust you left this door closed?"

"Yes." Fiora replied, "They must have come to kill me as well." They cautiously entered the room, Louise pointing her strung arrow here and there. After a thorough inspection of the room, they concluded that there were no hidden enemies and Fiora pulled out all the components of her combat suit, and quickly began to change out of her leisure clothes.

"By the way Fiora," Louise said as she kept watch at the doorway, "how _did_ you get all the way over at that end of the castle?"

"As I said," Fiora started as she began fastening the string in her hair, "it's a rather long story-"

"And you now have time to tell it." Louise finished for her with a honey-sweet smile, "Please tell me, I'm rather curious. I mean, the only assumption I can make so far would be that you were in Kent's room with him when you were both attacked. But that could not be, could it?" Fiora had been in the act of putting on the main part of her uniform when she heard these words, and it caused her to freeze for a moment as her heart skipped a beat. She quickly continued getting her suit on wordlessly. "Fiora?" Louise asked as her gaze landed on Fiora, "Is something the matter?"

Fiora looked up at Louise, for a moment trying to ask for her, with her eyes alone, to understand the situation if she had figured it out already. It didn't work. "N-no." Fiora stuttered, a rare habit for her, "Nothing is wrong... I'm fine." She continued getting dressed, pulling up one of her combat boots, and reaching for the other.

Louise thought for a while, and Fiora was so close to finishing that she had only to strap on her shoulder plates when Louise gasped, "Oh, my..."

Fiora lost her concentration and dropped the piece of armor she'd been holding, but grabbed it before it could hit the floor and began fastening it's strap under her shoulder. "What is it Louise?" She asked as she felt her body temperature rise sharply.

"Fiora..." Louise started as she looked at her with traces of shock in her eyes, "Are you... and Kent...?"

Fiora wasn't even looking at the gold haired woman at the doorway, but she still closed her eyes and took a deep slow breath; her mind racing. For a moment she felt blinding frustration and an almost mild hatred towards Louise for putting together the pieces of an all too obvious puzzle. _She knows!_ Fiora thought, _She must have figured it out by now. Is it even worth lying to her? What's the point of keeping it a secret at all? Oh, how I wish that I had talked with Kent about this more!_ After five second that lasted for what seemed like two hours, Fiora stated flatly with her eyes still closed, "Louise... It's... complicated... It's not what it appears on the surface... but Kent and I are..."

"Say no more." Louise breathed, her suspicions confirmed, "If you wish to have it like that, then I have no quarrel, nor scold that I could possible give you. If you so desire secrecy, then neither Pent nor I will tell a soul."

"_Pent_?!"

"Well, if I know my husband, and I do," Louise explained with an indistinguishably feminine chuckle, and a slightly devious smile, "then he's probably pieced together the same conclusion as I have, and is assuring Kent of the same secrecy by now."

"Well then..." Fiora replied as she fastened the last of her pauldrons on securely and grabbed her lance that had been leaning against a wall, almost in anticipation of being used, "do be sure to keep it like that. Let's go!"

FIN!

Wow! That certainly picked up quickly, eh? Please! Tell me what you thought!

Don't know when I'll be able to post you all another chapter, but I hope it'll be soon!

R&R, or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same!


	2. Conflict

Welcome back, one and all, to the second installment of this story. I'm hoping that the 105 of you who left no reviews are enjoying this fic, and that the reason for my hit counter going up steadily is NOT because some potato-chip-devouring weirdo who has no life is constantly opening and reopening this page. Coughs in the middle of the silence that follows when nobody laughs at my jokes

Anyhow, for those of you who felt like you were left "dangling" at the end of the last chapter, I hope this satisfies all of your needs and desires.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, or it's respective characters. But in this piece of fanfiction, a story that I will make no money off of, I can do whatever I want with the Fire Emblem universe. And in this fic I shall not deface the name of the FE series with excessive foul language, mindless lemons, (or lemons in general for that matter) insanity, or fart jokes. (even though I think that last one can be funny on occasion! xD) Enjoy!

ONWARD!

Bursting out of the room, Fiora and Louise quickly made their way to the stables, this time with Louise in the lead. The speed was taking a slow toll on their legs and lungs, but it was for the most part bearable. Still, simply the time it took to travel the distance seemed to be a bit much. Castle Osita was after all, one of the largest and also oldest fortresses on the entire continent. Had Fiora not known where Kent's room was located last night, she could have easily ended up deep down in some godforsaken catacomb for the rest of her existence. Fortunately, both women knew where it was that they were heading, and they finally reached the stables without incident, and found Pent and Kent had since arrived as well.

"We've no time to waste," Pent declared to the slightly panting women before him, "it appears that our other companions are already fighting elsewhere." It was probably not a bad observation, as every horse, Pegasus, and wyrvern that belonged to the company was absent and there was only a single Pegasus and a snowy white horse.

Kent and Fiora ran to their respective mounts, leaving Pent and Louise to guard the door, and it wasn't long before Fiora had untied her Pegasus. "Fiora," Kent said in a somewhat hushed voice, "could you come over here? I'm having a bit of difficulty with this knot." Fiora walked over, grabbing a sword off the wall for him in the process, but noticed that his horse was already completely untied. "Did Louise... find out?" Kent whispered to her, pointing at one of the reigns.

Playing along, Fiora grabbed the leather strap and pretended to examine it as she whispered, "I couldn't bring myself to lie to her. What about Pent?"

"Well..." Kent sighed, "I suppose I found myself in the same situation as you did."

"Don't worry Kent," Fiora said with a subtle gentleness in her tone, "I think our secret is safe with them."

"Would you two please hurry up with that 'knot'!" Pent called with a dash of sarcasm, "The battle will not wait!"

Fiora hopped onto her Pegasus and said to the Eturian couple at the doorway, "Hop on! If we want to be hasty, you'll have to ride with us." Louise jumped onto Fiora's mount, and Pent seemed to half jump, half float onto the back of Kent's horse, and they were off to the throne room.

It was a silent trip, and again, there were no encounters with any enemies during it, but it still seemed to be taking too long. The hallways eventually widened to the point that their mounts could ride side-by-side, but there was still not enough room for Fiora's Pegasus to take flight. One by one they began to hear the distant noises of battle; the clashing of swords, the pounding of hooves, the sounds of dark magic enveloping screaming souls. The usual stuff. They passed a large locked doorway, turned a corner and found themselves facing two Ostian knights, their interlinked armor broad enough that their bodies impeded any further advancement. "You do not appear to be clad in the garb of the attackers." Stated one of them, lowering his slightly raised lance, "What business do you have here?"

"We are of the company that follows lord Eliwood of Pheare," Fiora answered as her mount stepped forward, "we are staying here in the hospitality of lord Hector, and we-"

"So _you_ are the missing comrades that we were to be keeping watch for!" the other Ostian knight commented as he and his comrade flattened their backs against the wall, giving the effect of a pair of double doors opening, "Quickly, the battle awaits; we will remain and continue to guard this post." The four riders quickly passed between them, preparing themselves for the approach of battle. But the doors they had just passed suddenly flung open loudly behind them, and from the portal poured forth half a dozen armored knights, followed closely by a pack of archers. "Keep going!" The Ostian knight yelled, "We will hold them off!"

A steel arrow pierced the armor of one of the enemy knights, and between the time it took for her to hop from the back of Fiora's Pegasus to the moment her feet touched the ground, Louise had already embedded a second arrow in the helmet of the same knight. "And _we_ will help!" She cried, readying a third arrow as her husband quickly followed her, small fireballs twirling between his fingers and harsh sounding incantations being muttered under his breath.

"Hurry, Kent!" Fiora spoke, "These quarters are too cramped for us, and I can just feel there is a battle going on around the next turn."

He obeyed, following her lead as he strapped on his helmet. They both turned a single corner, went down a narrow doorway, and nearly jumped out of their skins as the body of an unscarred general crashed down in front of them without warning. They looked off to their right to see Lucius, the intense angelic light in his eyes fading, his elegant robes and flowing hair slowly giving in to the laws of the gravity, and a smile inviting it's way to the surface of his lips as she spotted them. "My friends!" He called in a voice, that was both calm and commanding, "It is good to see that you are alive and well-"

"But now is not the time for talk!" Pricilla finished as Guy hopped off the back of her horse as they rode up behind Lucius, "The rest of our company are in the northwest corner of this keep, and it appears that the majority of our enemies are coming from the southwest."

"The bulk of our forces still have their hands a bit full with the morphs that are here and there, and we were sent ahead to try to do what the two of you have been doing for this army for so long; making the first strike." Guy continued for her, "We need to do this only long enough for the rest of the Ostian reinforcements to get here."

"Well," Fiora said, "I suppose that I should inform you that Marquess Etruria and his wife are trying to hold off a rather large group of morphs from the corridor we've just come from. They will likely need your help."

"I'm on it!" was all the priest uttered as he sprinted through the doorway, his robes flying high not just because of his sudden movements.

"You should go with him Guy." Fiora said to the swordmaster, "He'll need your help, and the rest of us can't maneuver in that narrow corridor."

Guy hesitated for a moment, "I... er... you're right. I'll go!" He ran towards the doorway, but before passing through it he distinctly glanced back over his shoulder.

"Pricilla, you'll come with us, we're going to charge these morphs as best we can until those reinforcements arrive." Fiora said to the valkyrie who was glancing with a blank look on her face at the doorway that Lucius and Guy had just passed through. "Pricilla?"

The young woman's gaze snapped back to Fiora and she answered, "Very well. Lead the way!"

The three of them began advancing down the large chamber, each step of the hooves beneath them increasing their speed. The twelve hooves that trampled across the floor, were soon dwindled down to eight as Fiora's Pegasus began to take flight now that the ceiling was so high and the room was so vast. As she left the two red-heads on the ground, Pricilla whispered to Kent, "Doesn't she know that the majority of the enemies' forces are archers?"

Kent looked up at the ascending woman, and caught her eye for a brief moment. "Trust me..." He said to the woman next to him, slowly shifting his gaze to the distant morphs, "she knows exactly what she's doing." Shrugging, but considering it to be good enough of an answer, Pricilla pressed on, maneuvering her speeding horse around behind Kent's. They both charged on, Fiora flying high above them and their enemies, which as Pricilla had predicted, consisted mostly of archers but there were a few knights and cavilers as well, preparing for the attack. The morphs mounted on golden-eyed horses however, broke out and silently began getting into an offensive formation, gaining speed as they advanced toward Pricilla and Kent. Pricilla sent forth a burning sphere of fire, that flew past Kent's head and set aflame one of the riders just before Kent knocked it off it's horse with a clean swipe of his lance's blunt end. Pricilla then veered off to the left and unleashed from the palm of her hand a brilliant bolt of lightning that she kept flowing through the bodies of a morph and it's horse for a good 3 seconds before she was sure of her enemy's death. Another caviler charged towards her but the rider was stabbed in the chest as Fiora came in from the side like some lethal wind, and carried the morph on the end of her lance until she reached a satisfying height and dropped the barley alive corpse. As Kent withdrew the end of his sword from the body of one rider, he hacked it down through the horse of another caviler and saw one of Fiora's javelins drop onto the body of it's fallen rider, killing the last of them.

The three on white mounts gathered themselves and after a quick check for any injuries (of which there were none) they turned their attention to the remainder of their opponents, a collection of knights and archers, one of which stood slightly taller than the rest with a hooded face. "I think that one may be the head bitch of these dogs." Pricilla suggested, the remark drawing some rather surprised looks from Kent and Fiora, "Perhaps if we destroy that one, the rest may stop teleporting in."

"You certainly jump to conclusions awfully fast... but it sounds plausible." Kent responded, "Good with you Fiora?" He asked to the other woman beside him.

"Well," she started, "What about Pent and Louise and Guy and Lucius? Shouldn't we help them first?"

Pricilla was about to agree with her when from in front of the grouping of enemies there came a brilliant flash of light that engulfed one of them with a searing heat, and a crack of thunder. The three of them looked on with impressed expressions as the individuals Fiora had just mentioned began their assault on the enemies. "You're right Fiora," Pricilla mentioned as they three began to gain speed, "we should help them first."

The most distinct thing about the battle the seven of them endured, was the near silence of it all. There was of course the constant clashing of steel on steel, the roar of flames, the persistent whistling of arrows in all directions, and the occasional crack of thunder, but it was quite devoid of screams of pain or death. The one thing that all the morphs shared in common aside from their ruby lips, pitch black hair, unearthly golden eyes, and deathly pale skin was that none of the wretched beings seemed to have been created with voice boxes. Except for one.

As her tiring allies continued to slay morph after morph on the ground all around them, Fiora, with sweat glistening on her forehead, dove toward the hooded archer that continued to mutter something inaudible because of the distance. Though as it continued to chant this, it also consistently unleashed arrows up at her, that came at her like an upward turned rain. Too many. Among her maneuvering and dodging, a stray arrow that escaped Fiora's sight and pierced the chest of her winged mount, and the beast shrieked it's cries of pain and tumbled in the air, rapidly losing altitude. _Not good... not good at all!_ Her mind went in to a blinding flurry of searching for a solution to her situation. _I'm the problem... There's too much weight... I'm the problem..._ Making a quick mathematical assessment of various speeds, distances, and possible outcomes, Fiora holstered her lance, drew her sword, and leapt from her Pegasus.

Now in free fall, heading toward an upwardly directed hail of arrows, Fiora held forth her delphi shield at a sharp enough angle that it's surface deflected the arrows, but did little to reduce the aerodynamics of her falling body. "...message from Lord Nergal I await you on the Dread Isle. This is a message from Lord Nergal I await you on the Dread Isle. This is a message from Lord..." The morph repeated again and again like it was the only thing it could say. Fiora clenched tighter on the very same sword that Kent had given her that morning, unsheathed and at the ready, her muscles tense at the notion of an inevitably hard impact, even if it was only a drop of about 30 feet.

The collision was unlike anything she had ever experienced. As she fell she had been bracing herself for the impact of all her weight to be flung at another being. She expected a blast of pain, a broken shield arm, or at least a bit of internal bleeding, but she received none of that. It actually felt like she had fallen onto a large soft body of water. Only head first, and in midair.

For some reason that Fiora could not at first understand, she awoke in a slight daze. She flipped onto her feet when she realized she must have been knocked unconscious for a moment or two, but her readied stance quickly lost it's balance. Then the pain that she had been anticipating earlier hit. Hard. Pain that seared through her head like an intense throbbing of blood in her scalp had changed into an enormous drum that pounded a single note repeatedly and brutally in the middle of her skull, to say nothing of the numerous aches and pains spread across her body. But she knew that it had to wait. She looked about for her enemy and witnessed before her, in a bit of astonishment, the sprawled body of the chanting morph. Fiora's almost unscratched yet still in pain figure walked up to the body of her fallen opponent and she saw how it's spine was turned at an awkward angle. It didn't have long to live. With the wavering tip of Fiora's blade at it's throat, the morph stuttered, "..lord... ergal... awai... Dread Isle... is... message..." She thrust.

With a loud click of her tongue, Fiora called to her pegasus, and the winged creature soon landed at her side, an arrow protruding from it's chest. There was a faint blue light coating the entry point of the arrow, and Fiora looked off to her left to see Pricilla far in the distance holding aloft a bright staff in one hand and waving to her with the other. Understanding, Fiora whispered soothingly into the beast's ear to calm it's pain, stroking it's face, scratching behind it's ear, doing everything she could to calm the animal that was being a good deal less than cooperative.

Fiora spotted a caviler off to her right charging towards her. It wasn't Kent. _Oh, I don't want to do this under such hasty circumstances! Forget it. You've no voice in the matter now!_ Fiora grabbed the end of the arrow and pulled it out in a flash, ripping open a large wound. Once the arrow left the flesh, blood blasted out from it, but the blue healing light intensified to an almost blinding point, and the blood reversed it's direction back into the wound that healed up in three blinks of an eye. With all the coordination left in her aching body, Fiora swung her figure up onto the back of her now somewhat calmed mount, and began her retreat of the pursuing caviler. Once she had enough speed, Fiora began to take flight, and, with practiced ease, she turned around to knock the rider from it's mount with her pegasus's hooves. Guy was quick to arrive on the scene and finished off the morph before it could get to it's feet with a swift swipe of his blade.

Looking down on the others, Fiora saw Kent piercing through the last of the enemy knights with his lance and the others healing each other on a small battlefield of dead morphs. Kent waved to her with his lance, and she was quick next to him. "I think that's all of them." she stated while more thoroughly examining the area, and touching a finger to her throbbing temple, "I saw some of our forces coming this way, it looks like we've held out long enou-"

"Fiora." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?" She stopped talking immediately. For a moment she stopped all train of thought and tried to figure out where she was. _'Are you alright?' What kind of question is...? Wait... He's... Yes, that's right, of course he'd be concerned about..._ "Fiora?" He spoke once more, looking her over a bit, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." she quickly uttered. "I mean, I've just got a raging concussion, some aches and pains, but that's about it. What were you expecting?"

"I just..." He started, his eyes focused back on hers, "I couldn't help but notice that fall that you took, and I just... wanted to make sure you were alright." His eyes were now looking only at her own. "When I saw you fall, for a minute there, I..."

"Kent," She spoke, "I suppose that it was a bit of a nasty fall that I had there, but I'm still standing. To be honest, this is perhaps the worst headache I've ever had, but please do not let me be too much of a burden on your thoughts!" She winced a bit and made a note to herself not to talk so loud with this kind of hurt, "I understand your concern and I'm thankful for that, but..." She sighed, unable to come up with words to express much of anything concerning the two of them at the moment. "I think I'll have one of the healers fix this up for me, then we can report back to Mark; let him know what's been going on." He nodded to her, and removed his hand on her shoulder. They both dismounted, and walked towards the others, leading their nearly exhausted mounts by the reins.

"You're welcome Fiora." He said with a small smile, and letting the quietness between them do all the rest of the necessary talking.

As they made their way to the group, Mark approached them and asked them first for injuries. "I've just had a bit of a concussion, Mark," Fiora answered, "I was just on my way to Pricilla."

"Well it looks like she's coming over here right now." The tactician responded as Pricilla rode up to them and gave one quick glance to Fiora who was doing a rather good job or hiding the pain in her head, before she pointed a staff at the pegasus knight and started muttering incantations, "But once you're finished here," Mark spoke to Pricilla, "I want you to refrain from healing any of the others. I'm having Erk help most of the wounded this time, he needs the experience. I've been tracking his staff usage progress for some time, and just a few nights ago he caused sparks to come from the end of a psychic staff. He almost started a fire with the blasted thing, but he's not quite there yet, and we need another long ranged healer really soon."

"What do you mean?" Fiora asked, the whites of her eyes illuminated with the bright blue healing light that was caused by the internal mending. The effect not only matched her hair color astoundingly well, but gave her an almost holy appearance.

"Well..." Mark continued stopping for a moment to admire the phenomenon of Fiora's eyes taking place in front of him, "Ummm... Erk's skill with staffs has been increasing more and more and I need-"

"No Mark," Fiora continued, apparently understanding exactly why both Mark and Kent were staring at her with such fascination, "I mean why do we need another psychic staff user so soon?"

"Well," Mark continued, "The other lords and I have discussed this matter a bit, and... we've decided to assault Valor."

"What!?" Kent and Fiora and Pricilla (who had finished her healing) all exclaimed in shocked tones.

"I know that I shouldn't speak of this journey we've been on as though it were nothing, but we've just got to get this whole thing over with. It's not just to avenge Ninian; a lot of Ostian knights died... a lot more than anyone had suspected..." Mark said grimly, "The main fighting in the castle is over but it was really quite a massacre. They're still counting bodies and... I can't tell you how bad it was because no one really knows. And it's not just the number who've died, this attack itself is something no group can defend against. We can't allow Nergal to live if he's capable of attacks like this; there won't be enough warriors to fend off the dragons that he summons! We have to do this and we have to do this fast. We intend on heading for Badon this afternoon, and arriving at the Dread Isle by tomorrow. We're only going to stay here long enough to recover our strength, stock up on weapons and supplies and leave as soon as possible. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got many things that I must attend to at this time. I'll see you later and I must congratulate you on holding out long enough for us to arrive."

"Thank you Mark." Fiora spoke for the others, "But I fear that we will not have the element of surprise: the morph that was leading this attack said that Nergal was awaiting us on the Dread Isle."

"Then we shall meet him." Mark replied.

FIN!

Wow! That was a short chapter! Hey, by my standards, this was some pretty short stuff, and one of the most awkward to write, (I had writer's block with it for over a month up at the top) so it's only going to get better from here on out! xD Yes it ends rather abruptly, kind of like the last one, but I do hope that this met your expectations of this fic met with whatever you were... well... expecting. Plenty more chapters to go, longer ones too! Think action and romance people; war and love... and boring character development! OH, NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE AN EXPLOSION EVERY 2 SECONDS!!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES:P

Go ahead, tell me whether this was a complete waste of the valuable time you have to dwell this planet Earth, (where you're constantly surrounded by phrases like, "Life's a bitch, and then you die.") or you enjoyed it so much you feel like your head would explode like some magic firecracker at the thought of not having another chapter to read this very second. And in case I'm misleading you, the next chappie WON'T be out within the next second, in fact, it will be deferred until an unnamed date before I can get it right. (it's one of the chapters that contains some of the more 'important' stuff in it.)

R&R or give me a Flame,

For I shall read them all the same!


	3. New Plan

Well, I'm getting a hell of a lot less reviews AND hits for this fic than I had originally anticipated, but as Frankie of Queen once hollered, "THE SHOW MUST GO _ON_!"

For those of you enjoying this piece of work however, this here is the chapter where things start to (in my opinion) get interesting, and this fic actually starts living up to it's designation as a Kent/Fiora fic. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, or it's respective characters. But in this piece of fanfiction, a story that I will make no money off of, I can do whatever I want with the Fire Emblem universe. And in this fic I shall not deface the name of the FE series with excessive foul language, mindless lemons, (or lemons in general for that matter) insanity, or fart jokes. (even though I think that last one can be funny on occasion! xD) Enjoy!

ONWARD!

"...and I think that should all come to about a good... 8,500 gold. I didn't know that Ostia was making it's soldiers buy their own armaments now." Kent gathered up the weapons that he had purchased and gave up, with the very slightest twinge of reluctancy, the vast amount of gold Mark had given him for just this occasion.

"They don't, and I'm not." Kent replied, as he watched the largest sum of wealth he had ever held leaving him, with hesitancy nagging at him like a splinter he could not locate, "These weapons are for another purpose."

"Wait a minute." The mustached man called out to Kent, causing him to halt in place. He suddenly took on a rather suspicious tone as he said, "You are not planning on assaulting the castle are you? I've heard rumors that the castle was attacked just this morning. Then I heard that the castle was going to be attacked or something like that. True, it's only the loose tongues of what I regard as some of the more ludicrous citizens, but some folk have been using the words 'castle' and 'attack' in the same sentence a lot more often than usual. I should warn you that I remember faces better than most, and I might just get suspicious of a non-solider purchasing a rather large arsenal."

"I suggest my good man, that you drop your fears of myself and the possibility of an attack on the castle." Kent responded in a coolheaded manner, "Just be assured that the weapons I've bought from you today will aid in the prevention of the latter of what you've heard. I wish you a good day, and you have my thanks for your services."

Kent left quickly, not wanting to cause much more suspicion than was made. Mark had been very deliberate when he emphasized that every member of the party was to keep their lips sealed when it came to the invasion of 'a certain unnamed southern island'. There weren't many other customers in the small smithy, but he was carrying enough armaments that any passerby could tell they weren't meant for one man alone. Still, the thought of being more than adequately equipped overpowered the thought of looking a bit suspicious. Kent was carrying a killing edge at each of his sides, an exceptionally well-made somewhat shortened and one handed variant of a silver sword (that Kent had been fascinated with since the very moment he had laid eyes on it) was slung across his back as well as two killer lances, and gleaming silver one. He was also holding in his arms a large drum of over a dozen javelins all bound together. Any one of the weapons could have shaved the hairs off the back of his neck, and yet this was only a small portion of the weaponry that the entire company would be taking to Valor. Kent was glad to know that he and Fiora would not have to worry about the condition of their weapons during the attack, and he took a bit of pride in holding the very objects that he had picked out himself. But at the same time, it felt like he were wearing an armor suit of solid lead, and he slouched under the weight like cloth in the rain.

Moving out of the shop, he was greeted by a blast of sunlight. His eyes squinted at first as he got used to the transition between the shady interior of the smithy and the abnormally relentless sunshine. _I thought 'Ostia' was supposed to be synonymous with 'overcast'!_ Today was a considerable exception to the usually rainy weather of the city on this day, (especially at this time of year) and clouds were seldom, save for on the distant horizon. The only signs of damp weather were the muddy roads of the streets from the previous night's downpour. Sighing at the sight, but having faced far worse, Kent marched forth.

He walked along at an exceptionally slow rate, constantly maintaining not just the proper amount of strength needed to carry everything, but also constantly focusing on keeping his balance. He made his way through the crowd with relative ease though: no one seemed to want to get too close to someone carrying so many sharp objects, and a small circle was formed around him as he traveled. At one point however, a group of small children, the oldest among them looking not a day older than five years of age, flocked to him. At first they were hesitant to approach him but they were soon followed him like a litter of quail. Then they tried to speak to him. All at once.

"Mother says weapons bad! You not should have those!" "Mister? What you doing, mister?" "Is that stuff heavy? It looks heavy? Can you lift all that mister?" "You look funny!" "Why aren't you going any faster mister?"

Kent's eyes only rolled under his heavy brow of sweat as he wondered how long they would keep at this game of theirs. _Alright, alright, it was cute the first time, but now it's just plain annoying! This is hard enough, and now these kids come along to pellet me with every single one of their pointless ramblings! ... Calm down Kent, calm down, calm down, they're just kids; they don't know any better. Do they? Stop right there! Don't give it any more thought, they're just kids, leave it at that! What would happen if I asked them to leave? Hmmmmmmm... Let's try it!_

"Don't you kids have a mother looking for you right now?" He grumbled, finding it difficult to use the breath in his lungs for talking instead of helping him breath. They all exploded to this question in a flurry of so many explanations he was unable to distinguish between any one particular voice. It was almost as though they had been waiting for him to say something; as though him asking them a question was like a 'victory' for them and they were now having a parade of sorts, with him involuntarily in the lead. They continued to talk and shout, more at each other than him now, but they still continued to follow him.

"Get back here this instant!" Kent heard a voice behind him, and it was followed by the children letting out a semi-unanimous shout that sounded faintly like 'Ma!'. He heard more than half a dozen pairs of little feet run off and he continued on. _Finally... And I thought the Mosquito March during my training was hard..._ He thought as he walked through the crowd of citizens. After a while though, he smiled and couldn't help but chuckle to himself in amusement. _Kids..._

A large crowd moved towards him at a faster rate than the other citizens and, like a river hitting a boulder in it's path, they swerved around him and Kent found himself in the middle of a very tight bubble that he alone occupied. Kent quit and rested where he was as he waited for them to pass, closing his eyes and catching his breath a bit. He felt one of the lances on his back budge slightly. He shuffled his footing somewhat, and continued to wait for the crowd to pass. Then he felt some of the weight of the lance leave him entirely. It was a slight change, but he could notice it. _I don't think so... I just bought this!_ Kent shifted his weight and kicked backward at the thief. His foot was caught, and it was all that he could do to stop from falling over. _This isn't going to end very well..._

"Need some help?" A familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Fiora..." He sighed with relief as she let go of his foot and pulled the lances and sword off his back. A good portion of the weight gone from him, Kent relaxed his shoulders as he reassumed his full height as opposed the slightly hunched position one retains while carrying such a payload.

"Sorry!" She giggled as he turned towards her, "I just wanted to see what your reaction would be!"

"It's no problem." He shrugged.

"We should get to the castle and sort these out with the rest of our supplies," Fiora suggested as she hoisted the lances under her arm and propped the sword up on her shoulder, "I'll take a better look at them when we get there. After that, we have an hour or two of down time. Mark says we need a break before we pick up traveling again."

"Sound's good."

She nodded in reply, "I suppose that we can do something in this city during that time: see what Ostia has to offer!"

"I'm sure that it has quite a bit to offer." Kent replied, as the crowd around them dissipated and they walked along toward the castle, "It is a rather nice location, and I traveled it a considerable amount looking for the right supplies today. The layout of the whole place is a bit confusing and I got lost a few times, but I liked what I saw."

"So that's why it took you so long." She said, "I've been making adjustments to our armor and getting all our other supplies sorted out while you were away. I waited for you for quite some time!" She was distinctly not angry with him, but she sounded like she had been dwelling in boredom for longer than was to her liking.

"Sorry..." He shrugged, "I guess I wasn't thinking enough about how this would affect you... especially considering how we've been interrupted from each other ever since we've woken up."

"_Kent!_" She whispered hastily.

For a moment, he looked like one who had just seen a ghost walk up to him and kick him in the shin. When the moment passed though, Kent quickly stuttered, "Forgive me... I... ummm..."

"It's O.K., it's O.K." She assured him, "It's just that... well... you know... the others could be nearby and..."

"Yes... yes..." he said, rolling his eyes at his own carelessness, "I don't know why, but I just... sigh... I just keep forgetting to keep this whole... '_thing'_... under wraps."

"I know..." She replied as the same tint of red that was in his cheeks crept into hers as well, "Actually Kent... I've been meaning to speak with you on that matter. Why do we keep... you know... a secret? Do we really need to go to such lengths to prevent others from knowing about...?" With her free hand she gestured back and forth between the two of them, "I mean... it's not that I exactly _want_ everybody to know about it, but sometimes it's difficult to keep a secret like this after..." She trailed off in her speech, as if unsure how to continue. He couldn't blame her.

They walked along in silence for a while, the din of citizens in the city being the only noise about them, and one they did not listen to. "Yes...?" Kent asked, feeling that he had to hear what she was thinking.

She glanced over to him briefly before turning her face away entirely and stating in a very quiet voice, "After... The Night..." A small shiver ran up his spine as he heard these last few words. That was what they sometimes called it: 'The Night'. It was after all, The Night that made all the difference in their lives. It was The Night that had struck such an unexpected chord in what had once been such a normal friendship.

They were both remembering it now; running over everything again and again in their minds. The blush in both their cheeks was intensifying a few degrees, and sometimes it wasn't exactly an enjoyable thing for them to think about, but they were still remembering. Remembering everything that had happened: Every thought, every touch, every sensation, right down to the most minute of details. Remembering the way it had started so unexpectedly. How they so suddenly and yet naturally came together in a glorious contact that they kept alive for as long as they could. There had been no desire to stop, only to press onward. And they did. They gained more and more momentum as they persisted and after a short bump in the road, they finally ceased. Exhausted. In both of their minds, it was no wonder they seldom brought up the subject.

"Well..." Kent murmured after neither of them had said a thing for a long time, "Even if it weren't us, I can understand how much of an impact that could make on someone's life. At times during this past month, I've wondered what things would have been like if it hadn't happened."

"Would you prefer that it hadn't?" Fiora inquired, catching him a bit off guard.

"You said..." He started, "no regrets."

"I know..." She replied, "Still... when I think back on whether or not I wish that had all happened... I always find that I would _not_ prefer that it _hadn't_ happen... though I can barely understand my justifications any more."

"I feel exactly the same way Fiora..." He said to her with a smile that he didn't know why he was hiding from her, "I suppose that we've gotten ourselves into a bit of a fix in that matter. If we were to be... open... about it, how would we even break the news to them: That we've been keeping a secret from them all for so long, because we thought we couldn't trust them to know?"

"Kent..." She said, "That's just what I was thinking moments before Louise found out... I thought that we couldn't let the others know because we didn't let them know _before_! It's vicious circular logic. I've even begun to speculate that it's no longer a matter of whether we can let others know about us or not; we no longer have any choice. Or at least our only choice would be to just quit and abandon all that has arisen between-! I- I mean... all of the aftereffects. And that's something I don't want to do."

They both had to blush, and it was an uphill battle to fight back the redness in their cheeks. "Don't worry Fiora," He softly whispered as they walked along, "I share your thoughts..." _Why is it so hard for me to talk to her about things like this!?_ He thought for perhaps the three hundredth time, "Perhaps, when we are finished with this journey, we can find some way to sort out this whole..." He trailed off, and the last few words were inaudible. That was one thing they had never really discussed at all: 'What happens afterward?' Whenever they talked about the future, this was where the conversation always stopped. _She means something to me... but I'm just not sure if I'm ready to change the course of my whole life for that._

_WHAT LIFE!? What do I have now that is so important that I wouldn't want to be with her?_

_Haven't I already made my decision on this matter!?_

_I think too much... Far too much..._

They continued the rest of the trip to the castle in a rather awkward silence, just keeping to their own thoughts. When they reached Fiora's room (Kent's room was still a bloody, war-torn mess, and it would be quite a while before the other work in the castle had been done and repaired, and time could be spared for the petty cleaning of a guest room) they carefully set the weapons down on the still arrow-punctured bed, but Fiora did not immediately start looking them over. Instead she just sat down beside the new inventory, and laid her eyes upon the floor. Kent sat down next to her. He placed one of her hands in his own. He laced his fingers in with hers, held it tightly, and asked not too innocently, "Does this feel good?"

"I don't know..." She answered in an almost detached voice as she gently stroked his hand with her thumb, "I can feel the warmth, but it's almost as if I can't remember it's true meaning anymore. It just feels so odd to me at the same time; like I want to withdraw..."

"Me too." He said as he started to pat her hand a bit before holding on to it firmer, "But still, something inside me tells me that this is what I want. That this is what grants me some happiness. I can't fight it Fiora... and sometimes, I don't want to." he let out a deep sigh and looked away from their hands and into her eyes, and he spoke in a near melancholy tone, "You're so beautiful Fiora. And sometimes... I guess this is just my way of reminding myself that you're real." She gave a strong blush at these words, and looked away from him as if trying to reserve some modesty. He wasn't surprised by her reaction, but he was surprised that he had actually gotten such words out. "I mean that." He continued, as she looked back towards him a bit, "Fiora, if I am going to feel this way, then I want to at least try to cope with it."

She was absolutely beaming at him. She squeezed around his hand tighter, and she was now more than thankful for this small moment of privacy they had together. "Kent," She sighed, "I _do_ want to get used to this, I really do. But I just don't know how to... Kent, nothing like this has never happened to me before. I find it hard to come to grips with the situation, even if it is of such an inviting nature. Sometimes I feel so unsure of myself that I just have to push everything out of my mind other than the thought of you and-!" She stopped for a moment, realizing that she was giving out some rather personal information. _Oh, Just keep going._ She thought, _There's no point in keeping these sort of things secret._ "Kent, it reminds me of what you mean to me. I'm sure of one thing Kent; I know I still feel at least _something_ for you, and I'm glad for that." She gave him a small smile as if it was enough to distract him from her intense blush and shifting eyes. Her hand was still in his, and she couldn't think of any legitimate reason to change that at the moment.

"Fiora... I..." He was at a total loss for words. She had just touched him. Truly, and deeply touched him. Before a thought could enter his mind, she raised his hand up to her face and she nuzzled against it. She gently closed her eyes, as if she were passing into a dream, and his fingertips ever so delicately stroked the spot just below her ear lobe. She smiled broadly, absorbing all the warmth she possibly could from this simple, yet so sweet contact. Her eyes opened, and she found his deep brown eyes little more than a dozen centimeters away from her own blue ones. At first both their heartbeats increased in tempo a notch, unused to being so close together. She looked back at him with neither uncertainty nor eagerness, and there was a quiet stillness between them. They leaned in towards each other, and their foreheads met, sending a ripple of goose-bumps all the way down to their toes from the 'collision'. Their eyelids dropped, and the very air in their lungs froze in place. They sat there completely motionless, for the longer half of a minute, like two statues in either deep thought or nirvana.

_Thank you..._

_Thank you so much..._

"Sooooooooooooooo..." Fiora said like nothing had happened, as she pulled out from behind her the silver lance and held it between them, "How much did these cost you?"

"Too much." He replied, leaning away from her, "I barely had enough revenue to cover them all."

She turned and placed the lance down carefully, scoffing inside at the way she had been handling this weapon of war like it were some fragile artifact. It would have made a lovely artifact none the less though. She looked them all over one by one, (wiping the bit of sweat from her brow while she had her back to him in the process) feeling and touching them with just her eyes. But then she recognized the elegant curves in the blades of two of the lances. "Kent," She asked, "are those _killer _lances?"

"Yes they are." he responded with a bit of the same amazement in his voice, "I don't know how Ostia learned the secrets of forging Sacane weaponry, but here they are none the less. Also," He picked up one of the killing edges and offered it to her, "I got one of these for both of us. I trust you can handle it?"

"I've been honing my skills with the sword for the past six months," She responded, "and I spent a good deal of the time practicing while you were out, I believe that I should be able to handle- Oh my! This blade is so light!"

"I know!" He said with a bit of a laugh, "I was quite surprised by their weight myself. They do not seem to be nearly as heavy as they look, yet their weight is actually on par with almost any other sword... or so the blacksmith said."

They spent a short moment or two sitting on Fiora's bedside, inspecting the weapons Kent had picked out. Both of them being soldiers, it was seldom that they were provided such fresh equipment, especially of this quality, and for a moment they indulged in admiring their fine-tuned quality. They checked them all for symmetry, sturdiness, and how sharp they were. A few perfectly sliced hairs later, Fiora set down the last of the javelins and stated, "Kent, something is a bit out of place here. You have done a very good job of getting more than adequate arms for us, but you appear to have not gotten yourself a primary lance."

"Oh," He shrugged, "The one I have will suffice, besides there wasn't enough money for such a thing considering the amount Mark gave me."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Kent," She stated as she walked over to their other supplies and out of their old weapons she pulled the brave lance. It had a slightly dulled edge, and it was rusting a bit in parts of the shaft. "You must have been able to get yourself something to replace _this_. It simply will not last."

"Fiora, there was no money left and besides, this old stick still has quite a few good thrusts left in it." Kent grabbed the lance and, with some difficulty, they wrenched it from her hands as though it were a magnet and she were made of iron, and set it down, "Your concern for my safety is a comfort to me Fiora. But please do not worry for me _too_ much. Remember that we are a team. You will always look over me from above, and I will always be below to catch you should you fall."

"Poetically put, but what about earlier today?" She asked with a smile that hung below glazed eyes, "I don't seem to recall you catching me then."

"Well," he said with a small chuckle, "I guess the important thing is that you ended up O.K... right?"

She rolled her eyes overly sarcastically and stated in a rather dramatic tone, "Suuuuuuuuure..." She gave a playful smile, flung her hands up in the air, and fell backwards.

He promptly snatched her wrist out of the air, like she knew he would, and stated, "You see? I've made up for it." She extended her other hand and he pulled her back up on her feet. The action left her standing a good two inches from his face, and she quickly stepped back with a blush. The redness was quick to reach his face as well, and he couldn't help but turn away from her a tad, quite embarrassed. Then he felt a touch on his shoulder, and before he could turn around enough to face her, he was enveloped by a tight bear hug. It was a gesture of friendship more than anything else, and Kent returned the embrace. "Thanks Fiora." He said as he tried to squeeze her tighter than she did him, "Thanks." She patted his back firmly and kept the strength of the contact high, convincing herself to keep it up. Perhaps there was more to this than just friendship...

They heard footsteps.

They broke apart silently, and while Fiora grabbed a killing edge Kent picked up his brave lance and sat down on a stool as he began using the sleeve of his shirt to try to rub some of the rust off without any luck. "Fiora I- Oh! Kent's with you as well." Mark commented as he entered through the door and quickly spotted Kent, "Shouldn't you have gotten another lance Kent? That thing looks like it's going through a mid-life crisis."

"It will last for one simple invasion Mark." Kent replied, "Besides, there wasn't enough money left for another one; here's all that's left." Kent removed from his belt a small pouch with a few gold coins in it. He chucked it to Mark, who promptly caught it, (he had an odd talent of being exceptionally skilled at one-handed catches) and peered inside.

"You're right," Mark pondered, "this isn't enough. Hmmmm... Oswin was rather specific as to how much money he would allow us as well as the added amount that we've collected on our journey. I thought I had done the math correctly..." He held his hand to his chin and his eyes drifted down to his feet for a while, as if reviewing the half hour of meticulous accounting of inventory and arithmetic he had done earlier. "I guess I must have forgotten to cary the one or something." He finally concluded with a shrug, "At any rate, the reason I came here is that I've decided to give you both a couple of surprises. First," He reached deep within his robes and withdrew from them two tiny blue bottles. He walked up to Fiora and handed one to her. "These are elixirs. I personally purchased one for every last member of the party. It's just like a vulinary, except you drink it as opposed to pouring it on wounds. On top of that, I understand that it's healing powers will put every drop of blood you've ever lost back into your veins. The chemist I got these from seemed to have lost a bit more than a few fingers, so I'm not quite sure if that's how well it'll work, but you should probably keep it handy." He handed the other one to Kent before continuing, "I know that it might seem a little odd to cary one of these things around, but it's just a precaution. The last time we went to Valor, even discounting the fact that we were in way over our heads and we were also unprepared for what we faced, we still got beat up pretty badly. I have no wish to repeat that."

"Mark..." Kent started as he looked at the bottle as though it were a death sentence, "what do you mean by this? Are you contemplating the possibility of us taking... casualties?"

"This is unlike you Mark..." Fiora voiced, predictably sharing his thoughts, "We've always worked with healers in battle, but to cary a healing balm was to... anticipate harm, death, or even defeat. And your tactics have steered us clear from all of those in the past."

Mark stared solemnly at the floor like a child caught by his mother in the act of lying, and brought his hand up to massage his brow, one of his few looks of regret, "I suppose that nothing escapes either of your eyes does it? Well... sigh... I just wanted to take advantage of the fact that for _once_ we've been given the chance to fully prepare for a battle... and I suppose that a small part of me is subconsciously anticipating... well... some 'very bad things' to put it lightly. As you know, Nergal is expecting us. I want to take every precaution possible to bring everyone through this alive. For me, that is now my top priority."

"So..." Fiora began, "does this mean that Kent and I will no longer be using our traditional tactics of being the first to meet the enemies ahead of everyone else? Does this mean that Kent and I will no longer work together because those tactics are going to be too dangerous?"

"Ermmm... not _exactly_," Mark explained, "That particular thought has crossed my mind from time to time, but I realized that there would be a simpler solution to this. From now on, you will be accompanied on the battlefield by Pricilla."

"WHAT!?" Kent and Fiora both exclaimed as they just stared at him in complete amazement. Ever since Pricilla was recruited, she had been the party's chief healer. No one knew exactly why, but Pricilla was naturally gifted with astounding magic abilities, and her healing powers were a blessing on everyone. But for her to be sent to the distant front lines so rashly was madness. "Mark..." Kent finally uttered, "Is she _really_ going to be riding along with us in battle?"

"I know, I know." Mark explained, "It sounds strange but when I considered that we have no idea what to expect to meet on the Dread Isle, I just started thinking about everyone's safety, and I realized how foolishly incompetent I have been with you two for so long. I've sent you off to the jaws death _far_ too many times without anyone to treat your injuries."

"But why _Pricilla_?" Fiora asked, "She's the best healer we've got! Can't it be someone else? Shouldn't this job be suited for someone more-"

"Expendable?" Mark finished for her in a slightly heightened tone of voice and his eyebrow raised. Realizing the error of her thinking, Fiora slouched a bit, as did Kent who had been thinking along the same lines. "You see the situation I'm put in?" He explained, "We can't anticipate for people to die. _I_ can't anticipate for people to die. It's got to be Pricilla. Not just because she's our best healer, or because of her mobility, but because she's seen plenty of combat, and she'll hold out better than some of the others will. She's not the best fighter we've got, but she's not with you two for that, she's there to keep you alive. I know that it may seem drastic to dismiss from our main forces our greatest healer, but we will still have Pent, Lucius, Nino, Erk, Canas, and even Serra I suppose..." Upon mentioning the last name, his hand reached up to feel the faint lump on the back of his head left by a certain pink-haired cleric that he happened to offend some time ago. "None the less, Pricilla will be with you the moment we set foot on Valor." He made eye-contact with both of them to see that they understood, and they returned it with traces of bewilderment still on their faces, "Well... that's all I wanted to say really... If you wish to speak to Pricilla, you'll have to find her first. She left to explore Ostia a while ago and I haven't heard from her since, but I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later."

"That's alright Mark." Fiora stated plainly, "Kent and I will teach her all we know on the boat trip to Valor."

"Very well then," the tactician responded, "Now I should probably get this money to Oswin and prepare myself for however he may chastise me for 'wasting' the castle fortunes. No matter how good of a cause it seems to me..." He muttered the last part under his breath as he walked out of the room.

Left alone, Kent and Fiora just looked exchanged a glance as though they didn't know what to think of their new situation. "Well..." Kent sighed, "I guess this won't be quite so terrible... It just seems greedy to me though..."

"That we, only two people, should be accompanied by the best healer in the party?" Fiora added. He nodded. "Well..." She continued, "I suppose that Mark's gotten this whole thing figured out. I have confidence in his judgement. Nothing too bad should happen if Pricilla's with us I presume. And there are plenty of other healers in the party to make up for her absence."

"Yes..." Kent muttered, still a bit unsure, "All the same... I was wondering Fiora... it looks like the last stage of our journey is at hand... so..."

"Do not make light of our situation Kent." She cautioned.

"No!" he quickly stated, "No, of course not. I was just thinking that no one can really tell for sure how long our stay on the Dread Isle may be. It might last two or three hours, or it could go on for two or three weeks. Either way, this may be one of the last moments we have away from battle for quite a while." She was hanging on every word he said, "Fiora, we have perhaps a little over an hour of time to ourselves. And if you wish... I was hoping you and I..."

"Yes?" she asked as she felt the heat of her blood turn almost unbearably hot. Her mind was racing for an answer to what she _knew_ he was going to ask, but so far she couldn't come up with a good one.

"Well..." He said with a touch of reluctance, "I was hoping that we could... explore Ostia now if you wanted."

Fiora felt her whole body cool down. Due to some inexplicable cause, she had thought he was going to say something else, and she didn't know if she would have really been able to resist the offer, or whether she would have disapproved entirely and perhaps had her first argument with him. But all the same, she soon answered, "Yes, that sounds wonderful. I've never really seen too much of Ostia and I'm a bit tired of being cramped into this stone fortress most of the day. It's lovely out!"

"I saw a few good looking food outlets by one edge of the marketplace. We could get a bite to eat there if you'd like." He offered.

"Kent...?" She asked, quite taken aback by the suggestion, "We don't have the money for something like that."

With an uncharacteristically mischievous and somewhat disregarding grin, Kent replied, "Fiora, today... I stole money for the first time in my life." He pulled out from his pocket a small handful of golden coins.

When she saw them, she nearly died from shock. "Kent... from the money Mark gave you...? I... Kent... Do you have _any_ idea how wrong that was?!"

"Yes." He stated flatly, his face suddenly very serious, "Yes I do."

"Kent..." She continued, "I know what you mean by this, but I can't help but think that you shouldn't have done that. That was money meant to be spent on weapons, on armaments, on things we could use in our invasion."

"I know..." He sighed, "It was wrong of me to do that for more than a thousand reasons, but I do not regret what I did. I've never had much money Fiora, I've never had anything to spend it on. But now things are different..." He looked downward, "I felt so bad inside Fiora... that throughout everything that's happened between us, all I've ever really given you is companionship and..." He didn't know if he could get the last word out. Or the last few words, he wasn't sure.

"Kent..." She said as if bringing him back to reason. She placed a firm hand on his shoulder and spoke, "That's all you need to give me..."

A smile came to his lips, hers as well, and it became quiet. Their eyes shut and they didn't really know nor care how much time had passed between what should have been no more than a simple blink.

"So..." Kent said eventually, "Should we give the money back?"

Fiora looked at him for a moment, then at the gold in his hand, then back at his face. After a moment of contemplation, she took the money from his hand and while looking it over she spoke with an exaggerated amount of hesitancy in her voice, "I _suppose_ if it'll make you feel better... then just this once I'll take you up on the offer..."

"Just this once..."

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Do you mean to say," Pricilla asked, pointing to the arrow on the diagram sketched in the dirt, "that these soldiers are the three of us?"

"Precisely that!" Fiora answered, momentarily giving both her and Kent a heavy sense of déjà vu. Kent and Fiora had run into Pricilla at one of the food stands, and considering that they were now all partners on the battlefield, they decided to stick together for the rest of their stay in Ostia. The make-shift meal they purchased was also very much appreciated in every regard. Rebecca and Lowen were talented cooks, but rarely were they given enough time to flex their culinary muscle and provide a luxurious meal for anyone, let alone a party with as many mouths as their group. Even when they had the proper materials in the necessary quantities, they could slap together little more than some dried, sturdy rations that would keep the body moving but also keep the stomach growling. So considering that a small handful of gold amounted to a wide variety of fruits, breads, and a good helping from the butcher, the sudden change in diet was a blessing on all of their bellies. All the while, as they walked and visited one stand after another, they made conversation of various things, for there was much to talk about being so close to the end of their journey. But among the dialogues the three of them made, Kent and Fiora found that though she was a very sound of mind individual with more skills and capabilities than either of them possessed, there were differences between them and her.

Pricilla was no soldier. Her personality was a bit louder than theirs, her loyalty to her personal life was many times stronger than her loyalty to duty, and her mind was ultimately more care-free. But not _too_ much more. It was evident that she would not mesh as well with them as they did with each other, but she would come very close, and her aptitude for magic was undeniable (she would breath a bit of flame upon her food before each bite she took). Moreover, the reason for the conversation was so Kent and Fiora could subtly evaluate what kind of person Pricilla was, and they were indeed impressed. They could tell she knew what they were up to.

After staring at the drawings Fiora had made in the ground, explaining more in detail the thinking behind their tactic, Pricilla spoke, "I honestly can't believe that you two have been doing this for so long. This means that a large amount of the glory for our victories lies with you two."

"Nonsense." Kent insisted, "It is a very tiring strategy for us and our mounts, and it can't be a success unless we have reinforcements coming to aid us. Besides, it was Mark who first thought this strategy up: were it not for him, I fear that none of us would even be here today."

"I suppose you're right." Pricilla said with a bit of a laugh, "You two are so modest that it scares me." She laughed again as they finally exited the food district. Kent reached into his pocket to feel if there was any more money left even though he knew it was all gone. He felt it was a shame a first but then considered it to be for the better, for he had no need of it and he knew Fiora would not stand to let him keep the stolen money. It was still not long past noon, (at this time of year at least) but it was late enough in the day that they would soon be leaving for Badon, so they began heading for the city's gates through the main plaza. "By the way, I was just wondering..." Pricilla started but then trailed off when a sudden loss of her thoughts struck.

"Yes?" Fiora asked as Pricilla walked along between her and Kent.

"Well..." Pricilla started once again after a slight pause and a bit of a blush in her face, "I mean no offense... But you two have worked together so well and act so very much like a single... _unit..._ that you even share the same tent, and the tiniest corner of my mind," She held up her thumb and forefinger a small distance apart, "could never help but wonder if... er..." The blush in her cheeks was now much more noticeable, and she did little more than let her eyes dart to and from either of them, as if expecting an answer.

"Ummmmm... If what?" Fiora inquired to break the silence as they walked towards the gates of the city.

Pricilla gave a groan of what appeared to be frustration as she stated, "Well... I just can't ignore the fact that one side of me was always screaming at the possibility that you two were having... well... you know..." Combined with the the color of her hair, the intensity of Pricilla's blush made her look like she had a completely crimson head.

Kent and Fiora exchanged a quick glance before Kent asked in what was a genuinely appalled tone, "What ever gave you _that_ idea?"

"Nothing!" She quickly responded with a bit of a jump, her blush unable to be suppressed, "I just always had this suspicion... and if that was the case, then I would at least be curious to know how you two kept such a thing a secret-!" Upon speaking these words, Pricilla's face turned not scarlet but a pale white and she stopped in her tracks. Kent and Fiora stopped a bit ahead of her and looked back with puzzled faces. Pricilla uttered in a very shaky voice without looking at either of them, "I... just... remembered something... I'llseeyoutwolater!" and with that she was off, sprinting back to the castle.

"What was that all about?" Kent asked with a quizzical expression, "Was it something we said?"

"I'm not too sure..." Fiora responded, "I just hope everything is alright with her. And she had better hurry up and get whatever she forgot, Mark will have an absolute _fit_ if any of us are late. We're going to need all the time we can get if we hope to travel all the way to Badon before nightfall; it's a long way to there from here."

"But we will have quite a bit of speed under our feet!" Eliwood announced as he approached them, riding his brilliant semi-magical stallion. Kent and Fiora were completely taken aback at the sound of his voice, a thing they had not heard since Ninian's death. He was towing along behind him Kent and Pricilla's respective golden-maned steeds, and Fiora's snowy Pegasus. "We've been given a few dozen horses for the trip to Badon, and a small group of knights will be escorting us on the way there to take them back: the last horses in the entire castle. You best saddle up, Mark is threatening to set things on fire and not accompany us to Valor if we aren't ready to leave within the next few moments. Where is Pricilla? I heard she was with you."

"I'm over here!" The valkyrie called from the direction of the castle, pushing her way through a small crowd of Ostian citizens. But she was also pulling along Guy by the wrist, who strangely seemed to be having trouble keeping pace with the woman that lead him. "Come along now!" she yelled at the swordmaster behind her, "You can't let yourself become preoccupied with food so much. If _I_ hadn't remembered you then we would probably be traveling to Valor without you right now!" He responded to her with only apologies that he stumbled over almost as much as his own feet, for she gave him no time to match the pace of her running.

In this moment Eliwood called out to them, "Quickly now! Mark tells me that if we're not on a ship en-rout to the Dread Isle by nightfall, more cities may be assaulted!" It was good to know that their leader was back to his regular self, though he carried about him an air of silent coldness and secrecy, like he was hiding an all too obvious wound.

Saddling up on their mounts, (and Guy following on foot) the five of them rode to the city's southern gates, and took what seemed to be the first step that would lead them to their final decisive battle.

FIN!

About time I got another chapter out eh?! Yes, I know, you're probably yelling at me right now: "I waited all that time for _THIS_!" Well, as much as you may hate me right now, you must trust me when I say that I will be taking precautions to post the next chapter in much shorter time than I cranked this one out in!

BTW, I'm not positive about this, but in my opinion this was the chapter laced with the most jokes. I should say that this was not intended to be a comedy (though I do have a keen eye for humor) but do you think there was too much funny in this chapter? Just wondering on that.

And now, some more silly poetry...

R&R, or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same

(Not just a crazy poem; a way of living and writing)


	4. Friends

Hello once again! Consider yourselves all thoroughly spoiled, I'm dishing out to you the longest chapter so far, and this sucker bumps up the number of words by 50 percent! Yep, that's right, this fic has just officially surpassed the length of 'Irony', and it's not even half finished yet! Talk about a milestone!

What's that? You say you don't care about the number of words? You don't care that I've worked on this piece of fanfiction for over a year for no money and am only doing this for your benefit? Oh... you just want to read the story... Alright, I guess I can live with that.

Like the last one, not a drop of blood gets spilled in this chapter. But don't worry, it's still going to be very entertaining, I promise! (Depending on your personal opinion of my work, that is. But for now I'll assume that your opinion of my work is rather high considering you've read this far!) But then again, I guess that it is easy for me to assume that you are enjoying this thus far, considering that not one of my reviews up to this point have been negative in any way. But hey! This fic has passed the 500 mark on the hit counter, so there must be at least SOMEONE out there who is reading this and NOT GIVING ME AN OPINION OF THIS WORK! takes a moment to huggle all the nice people who've been giving me plenty of nice reviews, to reward the good and make the the non-reviewers feel jealous and guilty!

Without further a due, the last few chapters covered the disclaimer rather well; I feel no need to repeat it a fourth time.

ONWARD!

"Good form Pricilla," Kent called as he made another thrust with his lance, "keep it up!" The sun had just been touching down on the horizon when Fargus's ship left port, carrying with it 43 members of a company heading for a destination that slaughter and death called home. The reason they were traveling here, however, was to execute whatever invasion they needed to cause in order to prevent an apocalyptic war. And so the vicious cycle of 'an eye for an eye' would continue.

There was still enough light to see in, and Kent and Fiora intended on using whatever free time they had to practice with their new weapons, and their new partner. There wasn't anyone else on the fully 1 acre broad deck of the ship, so they had plenty of time and space to go through what many kingdoms would consider to be an unorthodox practice session. Because Pricilla was not trained in the use of material weapons, the three of them had devised a sparing routine that would exercise Pricilla's dodging and blocking abilities, with Kent and Fiora acting as enemies.

"Thank you!" Pricilla replied as she stopped the end of Kent's weapon in place by simply raising her hand. Pricilla was by no means the most athletic or strong member of the group: her body was thin and light, devoid of all but minimal muscles. But her magical aptitude, combined with her coordination and physical flexibility more than made up for it. As Fiora slashed at her from behind with her killing edge, Pricilla let go of the hold she had on Kent's lance, and sidestepped the lance's now continued thrust as well as Fiora's swipe. This would have caused Kent's lance to go right for Fiora, had she not swerved out of it's way as well. Pricilla then brought her hand up and pointed a finger at Kent's heart. "At this range," she declared as the three of them froze in place, "It's quite impossible for my flames to miss their target. And don't think I'l get burned too!"

"It looks like you've won again..." Fiora complimented, as she withdrew her blade. "But what promise do you have that I won't have survived? You know as well as I that these morphs aren't foolish, and they also think on their feet rather well." She brought her blade down to the side of Pricilla's very undefended waist, "A chop here will be the end of you."

Glancing slowly from Fiora to the blade in her hands, Pricilla stood up and Kent withdrew his lance as she stated, "Shall we try another one then?"

"Indeed we should." Kent answered as he stepped back from Pricilla and walked a perimeter around her as Fiora mirrored him. After a moment of Pricilla standing there waiting for an attack, Kent quickly ordered, "You've just fallen form your horse. Defend yourself!" Pricilla obeyed and fell to the ground front first. As Kent and Fiora ran at her, Fiora began her slash for the spot that Pricilla's body would occupy when she stood up, and Kent readied a downward swipe for her neck on the ground. Pricilla fully extended her arms to lift her shoulders as far off the ground as possible, (essentially doing a push-up) tucked her legs in and thrust them through the gap between her shoulders and the deck of the ship. With elbows bent at perfect right-angles, she tapped into the help of her magic to kick off from the ground into a hand-stand position, and push herself off into the air totally vertically. With the bottom of her foot, Pricilla kicked Kent's lance out of the way, enough so that she could pass up through the air, avoiding Fiora's attack entirely, do a flip to land on her feet right between the two, and point a hand at each of them.

"Lightning for both of you, and I don't think I've left an opening this time." They froze in this position, examining the results. Pricilla had her left side and hand towards Kent, with his lance behind her, and her right pointed towards Fiora, who's sword was out in front of the valkyrie, it's edge pointed harmlessly outward.

After looking the situation over for a while, Fiora stated, "Unless your magic misses it's targets... a near impossibility from this distance... I don't see how you couldn't have survived this!"

They withdrew their weapons from their positions, and Pricilla let her arms fall down to the sides with a sigh. "I think I'm done for the day." Pricilla said, "I'm getting tired."

"GOOD!" Fiora shouted as she readied her blade for another slash, "Because that's the way it'll be like on the battlefield. Once more!"

Fiora took a Sacanian stance this time, which would have been counted as improper technique for twenty reasons in the eyes of any nomad from that region, but worked well enough for now, slashing vertically from the ground up. Pricilla jumped back from her, using her magic to hold Kent's thrusting lance behind her yet again in place as she landed her feet on top of it. Fiora was undaunted by the magical acrobatics and turned the path of her sword so that at the peak of it's height, the blade swerved back down and made a horizontal slice for Pricilla's legs. Pricilla jumped once again, letting go of her hold on Kent's lance and allowing her magic to propel her body high into the air. At the peak of her jump (during which, she at least _seemed_ to hover for a moment or two) she pointed her hands downward at each of them and declared, "You're dead!" She then noiselessly landed a reasonable distance away from both of them, her hands still pointed in their direction. "_Now_ could we stop!?" Pricilla exclaimed, catching her breath for the first time in a long while.

Kent and Fiora exchanged an impressed glance for a moment, and Fiora finally sheathed her sword and stated, "I think that's enough, we don't want to exhaust ourselves for tomorrow." Fiora then walked over to Pricilla, giving her a pat on the back and spoke to her, "I think that we're going to come through this whole thing just fine when we reach our destination." The three of them walked through the door to the inside of the ship, where the other members of the party were preparing themselves in one way or another for the inevitable attack they would be making, but some were more preoccupied with getting ready to turn in for the night. Kent and Fiora set their weapons down next to the other armaments of the rest of the group, and they couldn't help but listen to the conversation that Mark was having with Fargus and the ship's navigator.

"...Now look here!" Mark asserted, "This is the last time I'm going to explain this to you."

"Just show me the damn thing once more ya lousy slumbich!!" Fargus shouted as he slammed his fist down on the table, half begging and half enraged with impatience, "I've got to learn to do this... 'gernomitee' or whatever you call it!"

"It's called 'geometry', and it's very self-explanatory." Mark responded as he picked up a quill in one hand and a somewhat rusted compass in the other. "It was just a simple little comment, but since you _insist_ on an explanation of why the distance we travel from Ostia to Badon to Valor," He sketched rough illustrations of the geographical features, "forms a right angle, I suppose I shall have to-"

"JUST CUT TO THE CHASE!" The two pirates yelled.

Showing only signs of compounding irritation, Mark continued as he drew out what he dictated, "This is because when you draw a straight line that starts out in Ostia and hits and passes through the point of Baddon, you can make two separate points on that line an equal distance from Baddon. From each of those points you draw an arc, using the compass, that reaches just a bit past Baddon from both sides, making sure the two arcs intercept at two points. You can now form a straight line that passes between the two points of interception and Badon. This leaves you with a _new_ line that connects with Valor, that is also perpendicular to the original line!"

"How did he _do_ that!?" The navigator burst out scratching a particularly bald patch on the side of his head.

Not knowing exactly what to think of the whole situation, Kent, Fiora, and Pricilla walked away from the room in silence. _What's 'geometry'?_ they all pondered as they walked to their sleeping quarters, ready for some rest after all that had happened that day.

"Kent!" Sain's voice suddenly rang in all their ears, "Over here now! Talk with me!" He was sitting in a wooden chair by a small table in what appeared to be the room he was given. There wasn't much else in the room though, so exactly how Sain intended on finding a comfortable resting place that night was a question destined to remain forever unquestioned.

"It's O.K." Fiora said to Kent, "You can go talk with him. We'll see you later." And her and Pricilla walked on in a very casual way.

_That means _she_ wants to see me _alone_ later..._ Kent thought, making a mental note to find her when he next got the chance. Upon stepping into the room, he realized that Sain looked slightly different than he had remembered him. The differences were very subtle: his hair had grown a tad bit longer, his posture that he had sitting in the chair was a bit more calm, he looked a little more at ease than usual; little things like that. Kent sat down on a stool as Sain looked at him with expecting eyes. "So..." Kent started, "what did you wish to talk about?"

Giving an overly annoyed look, Sain quietly shouted, "ANYTHING! My good man, it has been _months_ since we've talked! How have you been? Do you miss my company? If you've composed a will in the case of your death, might I be getting anything of yours, perchance?"

"To answer your questions one at a time," Kent said very quickly for fear that Sain might go on for hours with more questions, "I have _not_ made out a will, as I am quite intent on living through this. I suppose that I do miss your company a bit, and over all, I've been doing very well."

"Forgive me for being so insistent my friend." Sain said in a merry tone. He may have changed a wee bit on the outside, but his trademark personality remained almost completely unchanged, "But it's been so long since I've talked with you that I feel as thought I could snap like some puny twig under the pressure! You were once my closest friend and companion, and ever since the tyrannical powers that be have taken you away from me, I feel as though I hardly know you any more! I suppose that it is jealousy that fuels my discontent more than anything else though... but I cannot tell whether it is jealousy of Fiora for inheriting your friendship to replace mine, or of you for being 'designated' to spend so much time with such a truly stunning woman. And now _another_ woman as I've come to understand as well! How many more will Mark give to you, I wonder?" He gave a hearty laugh at this, and had a notorious glint in his eye that suggested the latter of these two reasons was the cause of his jealousy. Sain always had been quick to act like this after all; change the subject to women.

Rolling his eyes, Kent assured, "You are still now, as you always have been, a friend of mine Sain..." He then gave him a stern look and continued, "Though I will say that I cannot help but detest the way you talk about the individual who I happen to be working rather closely with."

"Ah, HA!" Sain laughed as he pointed a finger at the man beside him, "Quick to defend her name, aren't we? And I was starting to give up on you Kent! Perhaps I was wrong about you?"

Putting his hand to his forehead, and leaning on his elbow while shaking his head from side to side, Kent replied, eager to change the topic, "Don't you see Sain? This is _exactly_ the reason why you aren't spending more time with me... _or_ Fiora I might add. Mark found you to be an individual who cannot keep his concentration on the battlefield at all times: You are much more intent on impressing women than anything else. You are a fine knight of Caelin, and of Lycia for that matter, but your mind is rarely focused on your duties, and Mark thought that it would be best if you weren't apart of this tactic because of that."

"You wound me, truly!" Sain retorted, as though he were brushing Kent's entire statement aside, "I have a duty to my knighthood, yes, but I don't think that that should prevent me from satisfying the needs of the fair beauties that so densely populate our party to a display of my chivalry."

"That is another thing!" Kent said, "You're obsessed with getting women to notice you. I really didn't want to be the one to say this but the women in this company are honestly... _annoyed_ with you more than anything else. You constantly follow them around, chanting poetry about their beauty and how special and fair they are; yet when one pushes you aside, you immediately move on to another and the cycle repeats itself. It is my opinion that you just don't know much about courting women." As he said these words, Kent couldn't help but reflect on the situation. _A while ago... I never would have been this blunt with him... why is it that I am so bold all of the sudden? Could it have anything to do with our separation for so long? Well... he doesn't seem to notice... and maybe I've been bottling this up for quite a while..._

"Kent, Kent, Kent," Sain said in a clam voice and a grin on his face that shook from side to side, quite unfazed by any of his comments, "You misunderstand me. I treat them all like this because they are _all_ special to me! I have to act this way because I know -- for a _fact_ I, might add -- that every single one of them is completely swooned by the mere thought of me: I have no choice but to treat every single one of them as though they were goddesses! They only 'push me aside', as you s primitively put it, so their minds are not completely consumed by me! Why, if that were to happen, they would neither eat nor sleep and they would all shrivel up like lovely little flowers deprived of water, and what a terrible thing that would be! It is difficult when you know that so many have their eye on you, Kent. Besides, what would you know about courting a woman?"

After a short pause of thought, Kent answered honestly, "Nothing at all."

"Exactly."

"But Sain, just because _I_ have no... 'experience' in this field, does not necessarily mean that _you_ are the best at it."

"I think quite the opposite my dear fellow!" Sain replied in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I do agree that while you may have little or no experience in courting women -- or even the ways of women for that matter -- I don't think that I'm the best in all the land; just the best in this army! I simply believe that I am only soaking in the good fortune that fate has bestowed upon me, and I am doing my very best to recognize that I am... how does one say... a humble connoisseur of women. The old proverb holds true Kent: If you have confidence in yourself, you will succeed! I have confidence that I will win Rebecca's heart, therefore, the chance that it will happen is greatly increased."

Looking upon him with one eyebrow raised high, Kent said, "So _Rebecca_ is the latest target is she... I mean; 'the one you've realized you were really in love with all this time'. Well then... I suppose I should wish you luck."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated Kent..." Sain replied in a surprisingly serious tone, giving him a hard look, "You'll see soon enough: I shall have Rebecca as my own by the time this journey is over. You will see!" He then nodded his head as if to say such a thing were already so.

Kent couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at Sain's fruitless determination. _If your eyes are set on Rebecca,_ he thought, _you'll have to at least get through Wil first._ He stood up and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but it is very late and we must both get some rest before tomorrow. It was nice talking with you Sain. I do hope that you eventually end up with a woman."

"Remember!" Sain corrected, "It is _Rebecca_ who shall soon be in my arms."

"Yes of course!" Kent said as he gave a short laugh, "_Rebecca_. Forgive me, it was my mistake." He started to walk away. _I'm cutting this conversation a bit TOO short aren't I...?_ He thought as he headed for the door.

_Well of course I am._

_But he's my FRIEND! I've known him longer than anyone else in this army!_

_That doesn't change the fact that sometimes I get annoyed with him... He's a good man, and he means well in all that he does, but his headstrong attitude just gets to me every once in a while. I know that one of these days I should just come out and tell him how much I detest so much of what he is, but I couldn't tell him that... That's all there is to it! Besides... Fiora's probably waiting for me..._

_Ah, yes! Of course! How could you ever forget HER! 'Fiora: The Most Important Person In Your life'? But... should that make her the_ only _important person in your life...?_

_Well..._

"Just tell me one thing before you leave!" Sain suddenly declared, Kent stopping in his tracks, "How goes your love-life with Fiora?"

Not expecting this question in the least, Kent could only manage to stutter, "Umm... ahh..."

"Oh, out with it already!" Sain burst out with a large grin, "Fill me in! I'm only curious! What was it like the last time you took her aside for a little 'private discussion'? How many times has _she_ been the one to deliver the 'last kiss goodnight'? What did she think when she found out she'd have to compete with Pricilla over you?"

Deciding it would be best to play along, and seeing no immediate options open to him at the moment, Kent replied with what he made sure was too much sarcasm in his voice, "Wow... I haven't really been keeping track of some of those things... "

"Been going on for... how long now?"

"Not _too_ long."

"How far has the relationship come?"

"Umm... in comparison to what?"

"Doesn't matter."

"I'd say reasonably far."

"Sleeping together?"

"Er... yes quite often..." The conversation was rapidly making him more and more uncomfortable and his enthusiasm for this sort of 'humor' had long since melted away.

"Well, if you ever have any trouble getting her lit -- if you know what I mean -- then I'd be more than happy to lend some of my professional assistance!"

"I'll be sure to notify you if I have the need for it..." Even if it was only a joke, Kent found speaking of Fiora in this way more and more sickening, and he wanted for it to stop. Now. He began to speculate what Sain's reaction would be if he walked out the door this very moment.

"A nice body that woman has!" Sain continued merrily, "She doesn't have it as much as I should like up north, but I'm sure the rest of her more than makes up for it! They say that Illian women tend to be rather cold and frozen most of the time, but I'm sure I could warm her up in more than one way! Perhaps I should sneak into her room tonight just to see what kind of futile resistance she could possibly give before I-"

"_SAIN!_ I BELIEVE I SHOULD TELL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT I THINK YOU ARE INDEED A VERY SICK-MINDED, CHILDISH, PERVERTED LITTLE BASTARD! AND IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD ABOUT FIORA, THEN I'LL BE FORCED TO BREAK YOUR JAW WITHOUT A MOMENT'S HESITATION!"

Sain's smile instantly disappeared, and it was replaced with little more than a wide eyed and almost fearful expression that covered his face. _Did I really just say that!?_ Kent thought in amazement, _Did that just come from my mouth!? Nobody else heard that, right? It was only a joke! Did I really have to yell at him like that?_

_He insulted Fiora..._

_But am I truly so defensive of her that I would scream like an animal at a mere jest?_

_He didn't just insult her, he talked about doing things to her... doing things to her that are wrong... acts that I would _kill_ him for if I found him doing them to her!_

_Would I really... _kill_ him for that...? But he didn't mean anything by it! Sain would never..._

_Or would he...?_

_Why did I have to say that! Did I really mean what I said...?_

There was complete silence between them for what seemed like hours, as they both just stared at each other with wide eyes. It was as though they had just witnessed someone's body turn inside-out, and they were looking at each other expecting one of them to be next. Then Sain laughed. He suddenly burst into a loud, insane laughter. He slapped his leg and pounded on the table as his uncontrolled laughter filled the room and he rolled onto the floor with tears in his eyes. "Kent!" Sain laughed, doubled over on the floor, "FINALLY! YOU'VE FINALLY GOTTEN A SENSE OF HUMOR! And I thought that you would be an astute hard-ass all your life! A CHEER! A cheer for the man who on this day made me laugh for the first time since I've known the poor sap!"

With sweat on his brow, Kent stood there for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. _This... is a good time to leave..._ He thought and then said, "Goodnight Sain."

Still flopping around on the floor in laughter, Sain called out, "...CHILDISH! HA! I'm older than him and yet _he_ calls _me_ the child! HA HA _HAAAAA_!"

&&&&&&&&&&&

As Fiora and Pricilla left Kent to talk with Sain, Pricilla asked on the way to her room, "Why is it that those two are such close friends?"

"I think it's because they used to work together before they joined this group." Fiora replied, "It must have been hard to get that friendship though. I don't know of any other two companions who are so close yet so different from one another. I can't say for sure, but I do believe that Sain is jealous of me for... 'taking' Kent from him. Kent didn't seem to mind working with me all the time and almost completely severing his ties with Sain though, so I suppose their friendship was a bit more one-sided. Of course, I could be wrong."

"Intriguing..." Pricilla said as they turned a corner, "At first -- before I learned otherwise you must understand -- I thought that considering the way Sain and Kent were once very close-working knights; I thought their personalities would be very much alike. So, if Sain was... well... the way he is, you know... then Kent would also be-"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Fiora said as she shook her head, "On the contrary, I find that they're quite opposites. While Sain is always trying to court every woman he sees, Kent is the kind of man who would probably... _apologize_ if he were to confess any sort of emotion to a woman!" She laughed lightly, and while it did not show on her face; she suddenly remembered that Kent had in fact done exactly that. "And Sain is typically much more care-free and to an extent, more cynical than Kent, so they do differ in many ways."

Giving a bit of a chuckle, Pricilla asked, "By the way, I'm just curious about something. When I joined this group, Sain tried to court me early into our journey. He'd follow me around all day, always bringing an injury to me that he said I _needed_ to mend -- though it would usually be little more than a small cut that I soon suspected to be self-inflicted -- just so he could spend time with me and hail me with compliments about my physical characteristics. But... I never saw him trying to attract you, though he _surely_ must have done such a thing at _some_ time or another. Didn't he?"

Rolling her eyes, Fiora let out a small chuckle and said, "I do recall him trying to court me, but his obsession with me was much shorter lived than most I think."

"What happened?"

"Well," She said as she scratched her head as though the action would aid her memory, "I had just joined the group, and we were all riding on this very ship back to Badon. I had just been through a lot to make a long story short, and I was about to retire for the night when Sain walked up to me and asked my name. I gave it to him and I believe he said something to the effect of, 'Well then Fiora, as a Knight of Caelin, I am duty-bound to honesty. As such, I feel that I must say that you are by far the most beautiful and stunning Dame it has ever been my absolute delight to gaze upon!' He then went on for quite some time poetically trying to flatter me with compliments, I didn't really pay much attention to what he said, and _not_ just because I was tired." Pricilla laughed, "But then once he had finished, he asked me to marry him!"

Eyes bulged in surprise, Pricilla asked, "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I was tired and I wanted to go to sleep."

Pricilla gave a puzzled look. "Sooooooooooo... you just went straight to bed?"

"No, I gave him a swift kick in the shin, and he hopped away. _Then_ I went to bed."

Pricilla laughed out loud at this and said, "I'd expect no less from you. Still... it just seems wrong that he tries to flatter every woman he sees. I wonder if any woman has ever felt anything for him back, or if he will ever find someone. It's hard for me to not pity him."

"Yes..." Fiora said, "I suppose that it's best not to beat him into the dust so much..."

They walked along in silence for a while, making this turn or that, yet they had so far only traveled half the distance to Pricilla's room. "So..." Pricilla said in a very hushed voice as they walked down a remarkably quiet hallway, "Speaking of such things... aren't you going to... tell me about it?"

Looking at her quizzically, Fiora answered, "Ummmmmm... tell you about... what?"

"Oh don't act like a fool for me Fiora! I can keep a secret!" She whispered, "You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"No..." Fiora answered, "I honestly don't."

"Oh, in the name of all that is sacred!" Pricilla sighed, "Fiora, I'm talking about you and Kent! You two are having a secret relationship aren't you!"

Trying to keep a straight face, Fiora responded to the accusation in much the same way she had earlier that day, "I don't know where you get these ideas Pricilla, but I must say that you should not let your mind dwell on such a subject when the three of us have a very big day tomorrow! We need to have absolute trust in one another, and ensure that we fight to the best of our abilities."

"That's just something that I've noticed about both you and Kent, Fiora." Pricilla stated, "All that either of you seem to think about is your current situation and what happens immediately afterwards! Didn't you take the time to notice that this is going to be the first time since our last trip to this island that we've been on the _offensive_? Every other battle we've been in has been an attack on us, and now we're doing something that is totally new to us. It actually makes me wonder whether or not we're ready for this. Once you think about it, we are essentially reversing our strategies!"

"That's the last thing you should be thinking of Pricilla. We have to be ready for this now! If we're not, the assault on Ostia could happen all over again in every city on the continent, and the attackers would soon be including dragons as well. It would be just like the Scouring, and this time I don't think that our race would win. Just think that it's no longer about saving our own lives, it's about saving all the lives of humanity. After this, I don't know what will happen, but we need to understand that we must go to whatever lengths necessary to accomplish this task, the fate of our existence depends on it."

"There you go again! You don't know what's going to happen after this because you don't take the time to look around you and recognize the other things that are important!"

"Like what?"

"Like _you_!" They both stopped in their tracks and Fiora turned to Pricilla in amazement at what she was hearing, "What will become of you after this is over Fiora? Sure you'll get paid; we're all getting paid after this is over, and I might add that we deserve it a good deal for all the pain we've all gone through, but it won't be enough for us to live on forever; not on our own at least. That's why I ask about you and Kent. Look at yourself! You're living out the prime years of your life, and you tell me you have no one to spend them with!? What about your sisters? What will happen to them? You need to figure out a future for yourself, a life that may perhaps be separate from the ways of war. You can't be a mercenary all your life Fiora."

It was quiet for a while, Fiora was still trying to comprehend all she had said. "Pricilla..." She said gently, "Why do you feel this way?"

Pricilla's expression softened. "Because I care about you Fiora... I'm not afraid of you dying tomorrow, I'm just afraid that after this you won't know what to do with your life. Or that you'll go back to the life you lead before, which as I understand, was not exactly an enjoyable one. You're a good person Fiora... you deserve to live a happy life, and I just wanted to give you some advice because I thought you could use it."

_She has a point... Ever since my unit of Pegasus knights was wiped out, all I've known is working in this army. If I had finished my mission, what would I have been returning to? A station to give me another mission? Another contract of some client to fulfill? She makes a very good point... outside of being a mercenary... what am I?_ "Thank you Pricilla..." Fiora said, still realizing so many things, "I guess you're right..."

Pricilla sighed. "Fiora... I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Fiora assured her, "I thank you for bringing these things to my attention."

"No..." She replied, shaking her head, "What I mean is, I'm sorry for probably depressing you. I didn't really mean to say that I just..." She trailed off and looked away a bit.

"Yes?" Fiora asked.

With yet another sigh, Pricilla explained, "It's just... almost too much to take in, you know? That the fate of our entire race rests on our shoulders, and to me it just feels so... heavy. But I must carry my share of the weight, just the same as every other individual of this group carries theirs. And I am proud to carry this burden Fiora... but I just don't think I'm ready to die for it. That's all. I just want to live through this and I feel almost... ashamed because of that." Her gaze shifted back to the floor.

Fiora put an arm on her shoulder and stated, "Pricilla, you are not alone. I don't blame you for such thoughts; in fact, I rather agree with you! Yes, this battle needs to be won by any means necessary, and for noble reasons at that, but I don't think anyone really wants to give their life for it. Perhaps it's unfair to make judgments about other people's decisions without their consent, but I think it's safe to say we all want to come through this alive." Pricilla looked up and she finished, "Does that help?"

"Yes..." Pricilla said, "I suppose it does... It's good to know I have a friend like you, Fiora... thank you." She smiled shyly and Fiora thought, _Is she really... Yes I suppose that I could call her a friend of mine... I haven't really known her all that well for too long, but I suppose... Pricilla, you've healed my wounds numerous times, I've talked with you and I've fought alongside you. Pricilla, I don't see how you couldn't be a friend._

"I'm glad that I have you for a friend as well Pricilla." Fiora said with a smile, "Now get some sleep so you're ready for, tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the for the remaining years of your life. I know you'll have a fulfilling future." Upon hearing this, Pricilla stepped forward and gave her a hug that Fiora returned whole-heartedly.

_She is..._

_...definitely a friend!_

"Goodnight Fiora."

"Goodnight Pricilla."

Turning around, Fiora walked away from the closing door of Pricilla and Serra's designated sleeping quarters and walked in the direction that she thought would lead to her own room. _O.K. Take a left at this corridor, then another left at this one... Now I turn right once I pass that hole in the wall, and take the third left... or was it the right...? _She decided to take the left turn, and upon recognizing a lantern hanging in the middle of the hallway with a missing glass pane, she was reassured that this was where hers and Kent's room was located. She paced down the hall, entered the correct room, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a totally shirtless Kent, his nose touched to the floor but quickly rising with the rest of his body in completion of what must have been at _least_ his 50th push-up. The sight mesmerized her. She didn't know why, but the way the light was hitting him right now, the angle that she was watching from, and the way he was moving left her completely awe-struck in pure admiration of his physique. He lowered himself, this time with a sharp exhale of air, before his muscles flexed in perfect synchronization and forced him up from the ground once more. She had never truly gotten a good look at him like this, she realized, and now she could easily see why this man was indeed granted the title of "Knight of Caelin". He rose from the ground once more and stopped, breathing lightly. His head tilted up. Like a hair thinking it had just been spotted by a wolf, Fiora snapped back to her senses, which in this case, meant quickly gasping followed by spinning around and pressing her back against one of the walls of the entrance with a loud thud. "Sorry-I-didn't-mean-to-walk-in-on-you!" She blurted out with hardly any clarity to her words.

"It's fine." Kent called, quickly getting up and reaching for a rag to wipe away the thin layers of sweat upon him, "I just finished anyway."

Hoping and praying that he hadn't realized she was watching him just a moment ago, she asked, "Why don't you sound tired? Did I interrupt you?"

"No, you didn't. It's fine. It was only seventy-five push-ups."

"Only seventy-five?" She asked in surprise, "I thought you usually did a hundred every day."

"I do." He replied, "But today is special... I don't want to take any chance of straining myself for tomorrow. We've both got a big day ahead of us. Ahead of all of us."

"Yeah..." she looked down at her feet and leaned a heel against the wall. _How dare you stare at him like that..._

_Oh, it was only a peek!_

_ONLY a peek!? You would have watched him all day!_

_I couldn't help myself!_

_Yes you could!_

_I know..._

"By the way," Kent said as he walked out of the small, doorless room and stood beside her, (she made no signal of it, but she was incredibly relieved to see he had his shirt on) "I should probably tell you about what happened during the little chat Sain and I had..." He went on to describe in detail -- and without any censorship -- the dialogue he and Sain had partook in to the best of his memory. She listened to most of it with an amazed expression complimented perfectly by her greatly widened eyes. Once he had finished up, Fiora inflated her cheeks and exhaled long and low while rubbing her brow. She slipped a finger under the string that tied her hair back, and felt the slight indentation it had left on her forehead, a gesture that he alone recognized as her look of having just been overwhelmed by something. She suddenly realized that it must be rather late, and she walked past him and into their somewhat cramped quarters. She looked from one corner of the room to the next and spotted her neat pile of clothing and personal items next to Kent's. "Wow... Kent... that's..." Fiora said over her shoulder, her thoughts still unorganized, as she grabbed her pajamas and began to get undressed. "So do you really think Sain suspects...?" She asked as she concentrated on her various buckles.

"I don't think that he truly suspects much of anything." She heard Kent reply, "I think that he only jests at you being a woman and I being a man, and that the two of us spend a large amount of our time together... which _is_ all true, Fiora. But over all, I think that he was only joking; even when he talked about... or at least suggested... well..."

"...with me?" Fiora finished for him, slipping out of the main piece of her uniform.

"Yes..." Kent replied with a bit of a shudder, "When he said... _THAT_... I just lost control of myself. I yelled at him Fiora! I yelled at a man I've known for I can't remember how many years. Luckily, he took it as a part of the joke he had been telling the whole time... but I meant every word of what I said! For a moment I even actually considered him to be a real threat to you. And for that reason alone, I _did_ desire to do him harm..."

"Kent... Don't be so hard on yourself." She tried to calm him, tying the knot of her shirt, "Given the circumstances... I believe your actions are justified at least to a _certain_ extent."

"I know... But it doesn't seem right that such feelings should cause me to be so irrational..." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Sometimes, I just don't know what what I feel inside anymore. It's as if my whole life is just slipping through my fingers like sand, and every time I try to save a single grain, I loose five thousand others."

_I can relate._ She wanted to say, but her voice only echoed in her mind. "Kent... I don't blame you for being unused to... our situation... I've never been in a position like this either. But don't worry about it too much Kent... After this journey is over, we can..." She suddenly became quiet for the same reason that he had earlier that day. Still, it felt unnecessarily awkward to end her statement like that, so she continued, "Just don't worry about it Kent... I'm sure that in the end, things will turn out for the best." She finished her thought even though she knew she didn't sound very sure. Adjusting the last of her clothes to her liking, and deciding to keep her hair bound back for a bit longer, she turned around to find his back had been facing her this whole time to give her privacy. She smiled. _Still so respectful... still so moral... If the others knew how things really were between us, they might not view this as a problem at all..._ She walked up behind him and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, almost puzzling over how hard it was to do such a thing with him in comparison to how easy it was to do with Pricilla. He turned, and looked straight into her eyes that save for perhaps one or two centimeters of difference, were perfectly level with his.

"Fiora..." he sighed for a lack of words.

A quick, "Shhh." was all she gave him before knocking him totally off his guard when her arms flanked him on both sides, swooped in under his, and rested in the middle of his back. She was forcing herself, she knew this, but the action was proving to be a more easily endurable task than had been expected. Slightly more.

He wanted to say something but couldn't. He felt a good deal more than awkward in this position, which a bit peculiar in itself as he wasn't even doing anything in the first place. Awkwardness turned to guilt. Guilt quickly evolved into an unbearable feeling. Slowly, but surely, his arms encircled her and landed at opposite shoulders, eliminating at least some of the guilt. He wasn't clutching her, but he felt there would be some sort of consequence if he pushed her away.

She responded to his gesture without any external signal at all, but on the inside, it felt like a victory in a battle she hadn't known she was fighting. She felt a trickle of goose-bumps run up the side of his neck and a memory was triggered within her. "Kent?" She whispered.

_Fiora... Yes... it is true. I... _am_... in love with you. And... I am... sorry... for this. I will... leave... immediately._

_Kent, that would not do. Please, do not leave. I do not wish for you to be gone but to stay where you are. I wish for you to stay _here_... with _me.

_Fiora?_

_Kent, I love you too._

With a deep swallow, Kent answered, "Yes...?"

"Do you remember... anything from... The Night?"

The question ignited a fuse that led to an explosion right in his face. She was asking him about The Night! She wasn't just referring to it, she was actually inquiring about it! She was asking him about the most taboo subject in their universe! It was strange, but he answered quickly with a shiver of hesitation, "Y- Yes... of course I do. I remember... everything. Why do you ask?"

"No reason... Just seeing if you remembered. That's all..." She verified, her lips gently forming into a small, unseen smile, "Because I for one... certainly do." He made not a sound. _Have I perhaps said too much? No. I couldn't have. What's that...?_ She noticed something. A feeling on her shoulder. He was stroking her there with his thumb. Perhaps it meant nothing, but then again, how would she really know? Maybe an indicator could be that her eyes were closed now. Gently. Blissfully.

_What are you doing?_

_I just want to check something._

_Check what?_

_The back of his neck._

_Why would you want to check that?_

_I just... want to see if it feels... the same way it used to. I just want to touch him... maybe stroke him a bit... Is there any harm in that?_

_Yes._

_I'll bet he feels the same. Warm... strong... his hairs all on ends..._

_Fiora don't!_

They heard a thump at the open doorway. Breaking apart in the blink of an eye, Kent and Fiora turned their attention towards the disturbance. It was Dart; his large body lying on the floor with his face down and a half-filled bottle of ale in the other. After a moment of shifting around on the floor with little or no coordination at all, he brought a hand up to his forehead and pulled his bandanna up from over his eyes. He looked around with a puzzled look on his drowsy face before he staggered to his feet, his large, usually powerful muscles not appearing to be helping him very much. Propped partially up against the wall, he took a swig from his bottle that would have made most men double over and become sick, brought it back down and noticed Kent and Fiora, who had been watching him in silent amazement this whole time, for the first time. He raised his bottle to them merrily as if in a toast, and said in a drunken voice, "Well I'll be! Itch Eliwad an' dat curshed laydee from a couplea months bak! How'd ye git 'ere?"

After exchanging a glance with the woman beside him, Kent walked toward Dart, placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him and said in a very direct voice, "Alright Dart. I think you're lost, but if you don't mind, it's rather late and we should all be getting some sleep before our invasion tomorrow. Now I know that my words are falling on deaf ears, but a hangover isn't-"

"EY! Itch yoo!" Dart suddenly burst out, apparently recognizing Kent for the first time, "You're dat one fella! Whash yer name ugain? The impotent guy who always 'angs out wif da lesbian!"

With little more than a roll of the eyes and a groan, Kent wished him good night and pushed him down the hallway. He couldn't do much more than that anyhow. He walked back into the room and turned towards Fiora. But she wasn't where she stood before. She was laying down on the top bunk, her head resting in the palm of her hand, propped up on her elbow. "I-"

"It's alright Kent, it wasn't your fault." She said for him. He sat down below her on his own bunk and started to remove his boots. "You know..." She started, as she watched him from over the ledge, "you're right... we do have an invasion to set out on tomorrow. We should get some good sleep tonight while we still can."

"Right." He said, his boots off but his head still hung downward with thoughts swimming through it like the millions of unknown forms of sea life he knew were swimming about in the ocean just a few decks below his feet. He felt that there was so much more that he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. _What am I doing..._ He thought as he closed his eyes, _How did it come to this? My life was so much simpler before. I was a Knight. NO! I'm STILL a Knight! I'm a Knight of Caelin, a title few have bore in the past, and I waste my time dwelling on these... emotions._

_How can you say that? How can you think that? Do you mean to disregard the woman above you? Do you truly mean to think of her in such a way? Doesn't she mean something to you?_

_She shouldn't. Before she came along, my life was fine. She was only supposed to be my comrade... someone to work with. Nothing more._

_You slept with her._

_I know._

_You told her you loved her._

_I _know

_Would you truly be so shallow? You said yourself that she means something to you! You said so yourself, just today! You _know_ you feel something for her. You think about her almost all the time now... More and more lately, you've been thinking back to The Ni-_

_I KNOW! I know... I know... I can't help but remember. I just can't help but remember... everything... the look in her eyes... the thoughts that so unexpectedly came to me that night... the things I felt for her that I... couldn't understand. Love. That's what I thought it was. That's what I thought I felt for her._

_Did you?_

_I don't know... I'm not sure..._

_What_ are _you sure of then?_

_That during The Night... when we came together the way we did... I was happy. Something I had never felt before was driving me, and I couldn't help but give in to it. It was what I wanted. It was what I needed. I can still see her... My eyes were clouded with tears... but I could still see her face... that lovely face... those eyes that I had never before stopped to appreciate... and I heard her voice... that soft, compassionate voice, that whispered my name..._

"Kent?" The woman above him asked. His eyes opened. His head tilted skyward, and he saw a few strands of her aquamarine hair hanging down over the edge of her bunk. He stood up and turned to face her to see what she wanted. But she said nothing. She just stared at him, expressionless. Her chin was rested on her right hand's wrist, and her cheek leaned against the palm of her left. She had clearly removed the string around her forehead, and her hair was somewhat messy, but only in contrast to the incredibly tame fashion she usually wore it in. But her eyes gazed at him, and even though a single lantern outside the hallway, a small candle by his bedside, and the incredibly faint light that came in through a knot hole or two in the wall were the only sources of illumination in the room, the two blue skies set beneath her brow almost seemed to glow with their own light. Still, she said nothing. But he didn't mind. The mere sight of her was satisfying him, even if a part of him knew he shouldn't be staring at her for so long. He felt the urge to avert his eyes tugging at him, but this time he couldn't do that. In fact, now he only wanted to see more of her. Almost without a moment's hesitation, he reached out to move away some of the hair on her right side. She let him go about his business without any interference. He moved her hair all back as neatly as he could, and hung it back behind her ear. His task completed, his hand guided below her face so as to not obstruct his view in any way. He cleared away the hair on her left side. Her eyes closed gently, as if falling to sleep. He took a silent intake of breath to ask what it was she had called him to for. He never got the chance. Her hand caught his wrist and refused to let go. Before he could do anything, she yanked his hand back behind her, pulling his body forward and pressing his lips firmly against hers. Without a single thought put into it he plunged head first into the magnificent paradise of her kiss and the action felt more natural than breathing. A hand wrapped around the back of his neck as if to keep him in place, but he had no desire to leave her. Both his arms wrapped around her and pulled her in to him as closely as he could. She let out a moan of what could never have been mistaken for anything other than pure relief and joy when their shoulders pressed squarely against each other, and it drove him wild with want for her. This was what he had been craving for so long. He had been too timid, too foolish, too embarrassed to ask for this long lost sensation in any way shape or form, but now it was here, and everything else could wait. All that mattered now was proving how deep his passion was for her went. The sweet, undeniable fact that the lips of this fine Illian woman were at long last once again his to claim, was a notion so beautiful that it brought tears to his eyes. But he fought them back. This was no time for sorrow. Her other arm lifted him up slightly, while at the same time squeezing into his back with a yearning he had almost completely forgotten. He stepped up on his edge of the bunk to raise himself higher and closer to her. The contact was broke for a moment, but it was quickly reforged as she pulled him down on top of her and locked them back into position. He felt her tongue press against his lips and he was more than happy to invite her. Indulging himself in the first Etrurian-kiss he had shared with her in four long, agonizing weeks, he closed his eyes even tighter and held her with all the affection he had wanted to show her for what seemed like forever. There were more than ten thousand thoughts pulsing through his mind right now that he longed to convey to her, but the kiss spoke for him better than any modern or ancient language ever could. After a deliciously fulfilling lifetime of being locked together like this, consciousness returned, accompanied by the need for more sufficient oxygen, and she broke off with a gasp, softly hyperventilating a bit. He looked upon her and saw that her hair was now ironically even more of a mess than before, but her gentle smile was more than redeeming of this small imperfection. Her eyes shone brighter too, and even the tears in them only added to her beauty. He opened his mouth to tell her how lovely she looked, how dear she was to him, how sorry he was for keeping his emotions pent up inside of him for far too long and delaying what they both wanted, or at the very least thank her for so bravely breaking the ice between them! But her voice came first, "Kent, can you hear me?"

His eyes opened. His head tilted skyward, and he saw a few strands of her aquamarine hair hanging down over the edge of her bunk. Whether he had just fallen asleep and it had all been a dream, or it had simply been a fantasy in his mind, he could not tell, but nonetheless he immediately tried desperately to extinguish the thought from his head before it burned itself into his memory. _Disgusting... you disgusting bastard! How could you think of such things! Not simply let it pass across your thoughts, NO, but _linger_ you on it to the point that you completely forget where you are!_ It was the lack of thought behind the desire that fueled his anger the greatest. The horrible want for nothing more than her kiss. The want for her, the lust for her, the need, the emotion, the sensation, all of it. He wanted nothing more than for the mere suggestion of all of it to be forever banished from his mind. "Kent," Fiora whispered quietly, completely unaware of how much self-hatred he was going through at that moment, "are you already asleep?"

"No." He quickly answered as the thought mercilessly became forever imprinted in his memory, even though he was now ignoring it, "I'm quite awake," he stood up and turned to face her, "what is it?" The string was still in her hair, and her hairstyle was the same as it usually was, right down to the two long tufts of hair that came out in front to form the main part of her unique cowlick. Her chin was resting on both of her wrists, her small bracelet was removed as well, and she was staring at him with sleepy, half opened eyes that weren't too different from his own.

"Kent... about earlier... I just wanted you to know that..." She sighed and shook some of the drowsiness from her head. She pulled an arm out from beneath her chin and pressed it firmly on his shoulder. She pulled him in slightly before she continued, "You said earlier today that you... wanted... to get used to this. The truth is, _I_ want us to get used to this as well. I really do! But it's just so hard for me sometimes... that's all. I just hope that you don't think I'm... pushing you away-"

"No, of course not!" He hastily assured her, clutching her hand, "I would never make any such assumption Fiora. I understand the way you feel. I really do."

"Thank you Kent." She replied with her eyes averted to the ground and a small smile occasionally flashing on her lips. "But it's more than that. It's not just that I don't want to push you away... It's not just that I _do_ feel something for you... Kent, I... ... I... ... ... ... ..." The words never surfaced. She was quiet for a long time. It didn't seem like she was searching for words to explain what she wanted to say, rather she was just soaking in the moment more than anything else. But this was only what he suspected to be the reason for her silence, and before he could speculate further, she continued, Her face now heavy with a blush, "Kent, I want you to know that you... ... _are_ important to me. It's just that every time we're close, all of my unease settles in and that's the only reason why... I mean... were it not for that, then right now... I would... I'd..." She trailed off when her eyes came back up to his. Their faces were now so close she could have sworn that had it not been for the lack of sufficient light, she could have seen her reflection in his eyes that were almost vibrating with agitation just as much as hers were. But neither of them made a motion to retreat. She felt her eyes close and his breathing grew louder and louder. They were getting closer. Neither could tell just then who was the most responsible for this, or whether they were both equally so, but either way, that did not change the fact that the gap between them was lessening at what was just below an alarming rate. It was like walking on air. Fiora's forehead ever so delicately connected with his and then they stopped. She slowly leaned in further, taking her time crossing this maddeningly short distance. Again, she stopped. It would be so easy. So very easy to cross the insignificant space of air left between them to receive the kiss she _knew_ she wanted. And yet she held back. _Why...?_ she wondered, _it's not like I've never done this with him before... After we shared our first one, I must have kissed him a thousand times during The Night... and a hundred times the day after... a few dozen the next day... perhaps an even dozen after that... and then..._

_after that, it stopped... didn't it?_

_Why? Did some of our feelings for each other... perhaps... fall away...?_

_No, that couldn't be the reason._

_They why all this tension? Why should it be so hard for me to just kiss him? Shouldn't there be a reason?_

_I'm only human. I'm unused to this. Sometimes, this is just the way things are._

_But it's wrong! There's nothing to stop me, so why must I hesitate!_

_This is just the way things are, and I must weather them regardless. Nothing in my whole life has ever been easy. Why should this be any different?_

_What about during The Night? Wasn't that different?_

_Yes... That _was_ different... But we weren't ourselves during The Night! I don't regret anything that took place, but had I not been so overwhelmed by the heat of the moment... it may not have happened._

_At least... some of the feeling still remains..._

"I'm sorry Kent..." She whispered, gently swinging back outward a bit, but still leaning against his forehead, "I can't-"

"Neither can I." He whispered, having no other words that he felt he could say. With their foreheads no longer touching, her hair drifted back into place and in the current light, it cast long delicate shadows across her face, and he bathed in her gaze. "It's alright Fiora. Don't think about it too much." He said. He slowly reached out to touch her, "It's not too important to me anyway. I am satisfied with... just your presence." he delicately ran a finger across her cheek bone. But unexpectedly, she did not withdraw. She smiled. Their eyes closed.

_I can't believe how hard that was... It's not just because the mood was broken from earlier... even if that drunk hadn't interrupted, things would be the same... but at least she understands... at least she knows that I understand her._

_I don't know what we'll be facing tomorrow, but it's good to know that some of this mutual feeling is finally resurfacing. He's so warm... I can't believe I forgot how warm he is... how much I really do care about him. I won't forget this Kent... it's been quite a while since we were this close, and I want to always remember this moment: When all the atrocities looming overhead, the never-ending hardships of staying alive and healthy, and even the complications of all that has happened between us were all simplified... just by being in your presence._

Uncounted time slowly whittled away as they felt their internal clocks tick into late hours. "We should get some sleep." He finally said, smiling back at her.

"Yeah..." They parted, and Fiora rolled back into her top bunk with a small creek. Kent, in turn, returned to his own bunk and flopped down into place. After he heard another creek, he opened his tired eyes and saw Fiora's face hanging over the edge upside-down, and looking right at him. "Goodnight Kent." She said with a grin in an almost playful manner.

"Goodnight Fiora." He replied with a rare giggle of amusement. She smiled and her head flung back and disappeared from his sight. He smiled inwardly to himself, licked his fingers and pinched out the candle. Laying down, and still thinking of the woman above him, and now not quite as ashamed of it, he found sleep much easier than was anticipated.

FIN!

Wow... a lot of the last part of this chapter just came to me a while after I posted up the third chapter. I sure hope you liked it!

By the way, dear reader, I must ask, what do you think of the Kent/Fiora material over all? Am I doing a good job on it? I mean, I'm getting a lot of "It's well written" and "I'm really enjoying this fic" kind of feed-back, which is fine (I would MUCH prefer less vague critiques, but for some reason, I don't think that I should push my luck) but so far, very little of it has been about the romantic side of this story, which in my opinion is the main reason for this fic's existence. Am I doing the relationship justice? Am I making it into too big of a deal? Is it in any way annoying or confusing? Feedback would be greatly appreciated so that I could better gauge and improve my work. Thank you.

Also, I'm not going to make any promises on when the next chapter will come out. Chapter 5 is probably the single most worked on chapter of this whole story, and it will take quite a bit of time to fine-tune. It may be 2 to 3 months or more before I finally deem it fit to be posted, but if I get a lot of reviews, I may post it sooner.

Again, thank you all to those of you who have reviewed! I'll see you all in Chapter 5: Gentle.

R&R!


	5. Gentle

Hey everybody! I'm finally back! Wow... what a long delay... but I guess it's rather suiting for a chapter I've been working on and off on for a little over a year! I'm very sorry for the delay, but thanks to everyone who reviewed! Your comments not only helped me keep going, but made me push myself harder. So thanks! Oh, and a very special thanks to whoever it is out there who made the hit counter on this fic reach 1,000! And an extra special thanks to Gunlord500 for beta reading this chapter!

Oh, what am I babbling on about!? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

ONWARD!

Kent looked around at his comrades a last time. He had his sword in hand and his back pressed up against the wall of the house they were about to break into. Fiora was on one side of him, in a similar position, and Eliwood on his other side, pressed up against the door, and Erk, Isadora, and Wil were beyond the red-haired lord. Everyone else in their battalion was set up in very much this same kind of formation around all the other houses in the village, and they were all waiting for Eliwood's signal to go in. They were uncertain whether or not these houses held any hiding Black Fang members from the previous battle, but Mark just wanted to be sure. He usually did. _It's so overly cautious..._ Kent thought, _It almost seems unnecessary to do this. Even if we saw all the villagers flee these cottages, I don't think any of the Black Fang would take refuge in a civilian's house. Still... I don't want my throat slit during the night, do I?_ He brushed aside his doubt, and rationalized that his edginess was due to the hot weather. Sure, it had been so foggy earlier that day that they could hardly see; but the sun quickly burned it away and its streaming heat was almost relentless.

Kent looked over to Fiora and her eyes traveled from the tip of her sword to his face as he mouthed, "Ready?" She nodded in the affirmative, looking slightly taken aback as though she found the question to be absurdly obvious. Eliwood raised his sword up high, dozens of pairs of eyes watching him, as he slowly curled his fingers around the door's handle and silently turned it.

"Go!" Eliwood threw the door open along with all the doors of all the other houses around them, and in just under eight beats of the heart, they had all entered the small domain. Their eyes roamed every square foot of floor as they continued their rapid advance. There was a small doorway that led to another room, and also a poorly crafted, but sturdy looking staircase. "Kent, Fiora; stairs." Eliwood ordered as he and the other three rushed toward the other room without anyone having stopped moving since they had broken in. Kent and Fiora ran up the staircase as quick as they could, knowing that every second lost dulled their advantage of surprise. They rounded a bend, and came to what appeared to be a tiny bedroom. They wasted no time as they started searching about for any trace of an enemy.

"Eliwood!" A voice came from downstairs as the sounds of weapons clashing shattered the silence to dust. Kent and Fiora bolted back down the stairs. Just in time to hear a woman's scream.

"Isadora!"

"There's another here!"

"How did-! Erk, don't!"

"You'll regre-!" A man suddenly began to scream incoherently.

Kent and Fiora had just gotten down to the first floor when they saw a flaming body run towards them. Fiora, being further down the stairs, kicked back the individual, who unfortunately landed on a table in the corner that had held a large oil lamp. The resulting crash sent the corner of the house instantly into flames, and the fire began spreading at an incredible rate. Eliwood approached them with Isadora leaning on his shoulder, her head and back bleeding profusely and moans falling from her mouth. "I'm getting her out." He cried hastily, "There's one more in there!" He stumbled out the front door as quick as he could, just as the fire covered up that exit. Kent and Fiora burst into the other room that was already filling with smoke and saw Wil, on the other side of a large table in the middle of the room, deliver a punch to the upheld arms of a bearded man who had apparently lost his weapon. The man quickly retaliated as he struck Wil hard in the chest, knocking his back against a wall, and delivering a low blow to the side of the archer's ribs. Erk, who looked as though his jaw was broken, was simply trying to get to his feet in a further corner of the room with little success. He didn't appear to be in good condition otherwise.

Kent rushed toward the apparent Black Fang member, and made a thrust with his sword. His opponent sidestepped the attack, and let fly with an elbow that landed right at Kent's neck, and then a second blow that snapped his collarbone. Distracted by the pain, Kent didn't even see the foot that hooked his ankle and pulled his feet out from under him. He fell to the floor face-first, feeling a mixture of pain, surprise, and astonishment at his enemy's remarkable skills at close-in fighting. Kent raised his head just a bit to at least orient himself. When his eyes opened, all he saw was the toe of a boot moments before he was kicked in the forehead, and he fell back down, completely and utterly overwhelmed by everything that had just happened to him. Kent heard a pair of feet stomp down right around his ears, then shuffle about a bit before they suddenly stopped. He felt something warm splatter on top of his head, and looked up.

There was Fiora, her sword thrust through the Black Fang member's motionless body. She withdrew her blade, the body fell, and she knelt down to Kent's side. "We've got to get out of here!" She said as she tried to sit him up. "Come on! The fire's spreading!"

Pain in his chest and head, and pretty much all over, Kent got to his feet and noticed the ceiling to be covered by smoke and flames bursting in from the other room. He looked about for Erk and Wil, but they weren't around. "Where are-?"

"I don't know." Fiora quickly answered as she made him stay low to the ground to avoid inhaling the smoke, "They're gone. But this house is burning down Kent! We have to get out now! There's a window over-!" an overhead wooden beam suddenly swung down and struck her on the head.

"Fiora!" Kent pulled her body away from the flames and under the table in the center of the room. The wooden beam had not fallen down entirely, just on one side, but when it swung down, it had left a bloody gash across the side of her head. _Not good! _Not good_! Think! Find a way out... Front door is covered in flames... Wasn't there a window upstairs? It's too far, we'd never make it in time... Idiot! There's a window in this room!_ He looked out from under the table to see a window, that was little more than a square hole in the wall, not too far away. He grabbed Fiora by her shoulders as she still groaned in agony with a dazed look in her eyes, and pulled her out from under the table.

Assuming that the smoke wasn't too heavy in the air, and that his broken collarbone wouldn't be too much of a hindrance, _and_ that their exit wasn't covered up by the time they got there, Kent figured he would be able to get both of them out of there relatively safely. _There's still hope... there's still at least a chance we can come through this... I hope she'll be alright..._ He was already sweating from the flames that licked along almost every surface of the house now, and he knew that too much of this exposure would spell his downfall, but he also knew he could make it if he just kept going. Then he heard a creak in the ceiling, and he froze in terror. Some of the ceiling gave way and he held his arm over his head as the wood came falling down around them. One shard of wood sank into his arm and he quickly yanked it out, but the pain had already started to take effect. He pulled Fiora along, but she wouldn't move with just the strength of one of his arms. He grabbed her with his injured arm as well, and pull as he might, she wouldn't budge. Then he noticed the catastrophic problem. A large chunk of wood had pinned her to the ground through her stomach. Quickly, he grabbed it and tried to pull it out, but all he got was splinters and a scream from Fiora. She started coughing up blood as she cried from the pain, and Kent said to her. "I know this hurts, but it has to be done!" The flames got closer to them as he gripped the chunk of wood again, "I'll get us out of here! You're going to be fine!"

"K-Kent..." She sputtered, barely able to breathe, "I-I... never told you..."

"You don't need to tell me anything Fiora. You can tell me later, once we're out of here." He said, "I'm going to get us out of here!"

"Kent... I..." Her head fell backward and he was blasted with panic as intense as the heat from the fire that was now just a few feet away. He knelt by her and held her face, smacking her, trying to wake her up as he checked for signs of life.

"Somebody help us! We're trapped in here!" He hollered out as loud as he could, but the only thing he could hear was the roaring of the flames. The fire spread to the window, and immediately engulfed it.

"K-Kent... Kent..." Her voice was incredibly soft now, like a light breeze whispering amongst a monsoon of rain, almost completely inaudible. But he knew she was calling to him. Somehow, he knew she was calling to him.

"Fiora, don't do this to me!" He yelled, his eyes concentrated on hers, and her hand clenched tightly in his as the sweat built up all over his body from the heat, "We're going to get through this! Stay with me!"

"Kent..." She breathed in pain, "I... I love you..." Her head fell back.

"Fiora, we're-" Kent suddenly stopped as the words she spoke registered in his mind. Her eyes were staring blankly up at him, as the grip of her hand faded. _She... Fiora... you...?_ He shook her, "Fiora you can't just-! No! Not like this! Fiora! Not like _this_! Fiora! Fioraaaaaaaa!" The flames touched his body. He screamed her name, and the rest of the structure finally gave way and collapsed upon them.

Kent woke up. He was covered in cold sweat, he was breathing a thousand gasps a minute, and he was completely unable to get the last thoughts of the nightmare out of his head. And it was once again, driving him mad. He felt as though he were still in that flaming house in Bern. Fiora was still clutched in his arms, and she was still dead. The image just wouldn't go away! There was no way to explain the persistent torture and pain that his mind went through. Even the fact that he was once again living in reality was not enough to overcome the psychological agony, nor his uncontrolled shaking, nor his hands that clutched his head painfully hard. _It didn't happen! It didn't happen! _He chanted over and over, trying to stop himself from shaking or screaming out from the horrifying aftershock of the nightmare that consumed his body and soul._ It didn't happen like that at all! We _did_ break into those houses, and there _was_ a fire in the one Fiora and I went into, but we managed to get _out_ in the end. I'm fine! Fiora is right above me, she's alive and breathing, and sleeping peacefully. She's safe. Safe from all harm, and in the morning I wanted to try to see her smile at least just once before our battle tomorrow and... and... _The thought hit him full on. A thought that he couldn't believe he hadn't even noticed until now._ Battle... tomorrow...? No! She's not safe! We're going into a huge battle tomorrow! What would happen if...? _The image of Fiora's dead eyes looking up at him as the flames covered their bodies skimmed his mind once again._ NO! I won't let that happen! I won't let that happen! I won't let that happen! I won't let that happen! Together we will make sure that doesn't happen. We'll come through this alive. I just have to stop dreaming!_

_This is the third time, isn't it? The third time I've dreamt of Fiora and I..._

_It's an alteration on memories I have. All three of them have been different settings, but at the end she's always in my arms... We're both always hurting so badly... And then she confesses love for me just before..._

_I thought it was just a random nightmare the first time it happened, and I didn't want to burden her with such thoughts at first. The second time, I thought it was just a one-in-a-million coincidence... but not now._

_I can't let myself think about it anymore... I need some air... I just need some air to clear my head... to make me cold and uncomfortable so that when I get back here it will feel so much better in contrast to out there, that I'll instantly fall asleep and be rested for tomorrow... And this time, I won't dream..._

His decision made, Kent ignored the aches of protest in his muscles and joints, and got himself up from his bed and laced up his shoes. _I need to make this short. I need to get back to bed soon and get more rest to prepare myself for tomorrow._ He walked out the doorless entrance to the room, careful not to wake Fiora, and he groggily forced himself to quietly pace through the hallways. The resulting feeling he got from all this was like trying to run through an obstacle course in record time with a cubic foot of water resting on his head, and a dizzy sensation going through his whole body all the while. But among all these difficulties, the thought of pressing onward remained, and that was what kept him placing one foot down in front of the other again and again and again.

Soon, Kent felt the ocean air on his face as he approached the exit that led to the main deck of the truly enormous ship, and he closed his eyes as he neared the opening. When he walked through it, he had expected to be greeted with a chilling blast of arctic wind; air that would freeze the very breath in his lungs and put him through much pain and discomfort. But what greeted him instead was an almost humid atmosphere. He opened his eyes and looked to the sky, seeing thousands of stars in the patches without clouds, and none of them were twinkling. _The waters around Valor are indeed odd!_ He thought as he realized that being out here was only slightly less comfortable than his resting place. Then he looked over the deck of the ship and noticed something. He wasn't alone. Someone was standing by the edge of the deck at the bow of the ship, looking straight out into the black of night. He approached the individual, but even from a distance it was obvious who was before him. "Lady Lyndis?" He asked the woman who was leaning on her arms on the railing.

She shifted her gaze about on the dark ocean this way and that, but her eyes did not meet his. "Kent?" She replied in a startled tone, "What are you doing here?"

_It's like she's aware of everything within a ten yard radius of her..._

His eyes adjusted to the darkness that was only illuminated by the celestial abode, (which surprisingly provided rather sufficient light) and he noticed that this was the first time he had seen her with all of her hair completely unbound. It flowed from her head and was spread all about her, giving her entire body a slightly emerald hue. In fact, he had some difficulty taking in the sight.

"I just came out here to get some fresh air." Kent answered, "I woke up for some reason and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided it would be best to put myself through some uncomfortable conditions to-"

"What awoke you?" She asked, her back still turned to him.

He stuttered a bit, taken by surprise by the question, "A... a bad dream, milady."

"What of?"

He was silent for a moment. "Death."

"Your own, or someone else?" She quickly raised a hand. "No, I am sorry. I should not pry into such personal matters. Forget it."

"Thank you, milady."

"Forgive me," She said as she lowered her hand to her face, perhaps to massage her brow a bit, "I've been having a rough day... a rough month to be honest... I mean, with this whole journey, and traveling, and all that's happened... not to mention the battle earlier today... How _did_ you manage to survive that, anyway?" There was genuine curiosity in her voice.

"A stroke of luck mostly. I was fortunate enough to meet up with Fiora just before any of the fighting started. We fought... but given our lack of preparation and arms, I'm not surprised we were wounded the way we were... though I am proud of us for surviving that encounter, I might add. Luckily, we met up with Marquis Eturia and his wife and once we were healed and organized, and found our mounts, it was a simple matter of finding our way to the rest of the group. And once we got out into the Castle Ostia's Grand Chamber, well... the rest is really just violence, to be honest, Milady."

"Right..." She said the word as though she had prepared it in her mind beforehand, in response to whatever explanation he might have given.

A flash was seen far out on the distant horizon. For a brief instant, clouds were illuminated with their own silvery, wrinkled faces that stretched out far and wide. Then, in the next instant, the horizon was as black and infinite as a clouded midnight. When he saw the effect, Kent's eyes widened greatly, and he took a step back. "It's O.K..." she whispered, quite formally and calmly, sensing his inner discord, "That's about the twenty-fifth time I've seen that happen. I think it's lightening. Although I'm still not quite sure why it's so silent. Perhaps we are too far away to hear it... but I have my suspicions that it's not natural lightning... it is, after all, coming from the direction of Valor." After a brief silence, Kent saw the dazzling light illuminate the horizon once more, although this time, he could clearly make out something of a landscape against the ocean's flat plain. "Even if it is some sorcery on Nergal's part... I must admit, it's quite beautiful..."

She absent-mindedly combed her fingers through her hair, hanging it behind an ear. She turned. He saw her face for the first time in what felt like months, and he was quick to realize that it had been about that long since they had talked much. Her face still bore the same contours and proportions that he remembered her with. Her eyebrows were thin and sharp, hovering over a pair of wide, hazel eyes that stared at him with their consistent, impassive gaze. Her forehead was still adorned with the short hair of her broad cowlick, that swooped out and curved back down, although he noticed that she had recently cut it, for every single emerald strand of hair in front was perfectly level. Her ears were unmarked by their usual jade earrings, and it was the first time he had seen her without them. Although even with the distance between them, he could tell that the holes the small pearls of jewelry had left were almost completely healed up. Her garments were not too different from those she usually donned during combat, save for the fact that she looked to be without her black undershirt, and her fingerless gauntlets were gone as well. She leaned back against the railing, propping her elbows up on it a bit as well, assuming a casual posture he also had never seen her display before. The lightning struck just then in the far distance, and some of the light was strong enough to creep around her figure, wrapping itself like claws around every crevice of her body, illuminating and shading her at the same time, and giving her the appearance, however briefly, of someone or something fierce and terrible, coated in mystery and complexity that he could never uncover, yet more inviting than an embrace from Fiora. The surprise must have shown on his face because she granted him a small smile and said, "What do you think of it?"

"What do I think of what?" He asked, lost in the sight for a moment.

"The lightning..." Her head jerked back behind her, gesturing toward the now black horizon, with her eyes never leaving his. She motioned with a hand for him to stand beside her at the railing.

With a few quick steps, he took his indicated place beside her as she turned back to look out into the blank abyss. Right on cue, a pair of lightning bolts struck in the distance, one right after another, and again they struck with perfect silence. It was actually rather quiet on top of that, with the sole exception of the waves that crashed against the bow of the ship beneath them. "It is... an admirable spectacle." He finally replied as he stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes now scanning the unseen horizon for any sight of the electric phenomenon. They were quiet for a while, having nothing to say at the moment. A bolt flashed through the distant skies. Then another. After a short stretch of time, a third struck, and by then, Kent had forgotten the reason he had come outside in the first place. Kent heard Lyn suddenly let out a deep sigh. His field of vision immediately narrowed in upon her. She looked fine. "Milady?" He spoke, "Is there... something ami-"

"Kent..." She gently breathed, cutting him off, "I don't want to go there..." The statement only intensified the silence. The waves crashed against the bow of the ship, and the great, towering sails over their heads rustled slightly. Without even looking in his direction, she asked, "Do you?"

It was so flat. This was without any shred of doubt in his mind the first time he had ever heard her speak so openly. Lyn had never been one to overly articulate her words, but she had never seemed quite so detached either. Still, she was asking him a question, a non-rhetorical one at that, and it was his place to respond, even if he stumbled over his words in the process. "I... well... it depends upon what you mean by 'want', Milady..."

"I'm sorry..." She replied before he could say anymore, and hung her head down a bit, shaking it to side to side in the age-old gesture of regret, "I'm... not exactly stable at the moment..." She unleashed with a high, hearty laugh that ended with a drawn out sigh. "Kent... I'm sorry for my rudeness... What am I doing? If I wanted you to get down on all fours and roll over, I would have ordered you to do so long ago! You may dismiss formalities for the time being."

Kent's eyes widened even further. She was clearly not upset with him, nor did she appear to be angry, or, heaven forbid the very thought of it, drunk. All he could manage to say was, "Milady, if you don't mind my saying so, you are acting rather-"

"Kent..." She said, cutting him off yet again, but this time she looked right at him and there was only calmness in her eyes. A sense of peace lingered behind her healthy-grass-green eyes, and yet there was also a trace of what he thought he thought could only be misinterpreting as sorrow, "please... call me Lyn. Don't make me order you to reserve some human dignity, Kent... I'm sick and tired of it. After knowing you for so long, I'm sick and tired of ordering you around like you were some lesser form of life."

He swallowed. "Y-Yes Lyn... I will Lyn." He could think of nothing else to say.

"Thanks." She said, giving a low smile, "Now I'll ask you again... and please, be honest with me... do you wish to go to the Dread Isle?"

Relaxing his posture, he raised a hand to the back of his head and scratched the spot, as thought it would make him think more clearly. It didn't. "I... Well... To be honest Lyn... I feel that traveling to this place is necessary. I mean, is not the existence of our very species threatened by the dragons Nergal is planning to bring into this world unless we stop him?"

Her head dropped almost dramatically, and she let out a deep, somewhat exaggerated sigh, which she didn't try to hide in the least. "That's just the kind of response I would have expected from you..." She muttered under her breath, "Kent what about a personal reason?"

"A personal reason?"

"Yes!" She said the word as though she were pleased that he understood, "Kent... You've got to think beyond the big picture at some point or another. Be _greedy_! Think what _you_ will be getting out of this! I mean, yes, of course saving our race from becoming food for creatures many times large than ourselves is good and all, but there must be something that motivates you beyond that! Isn't there something that you want to live for? What about returning to your family and-!" Her face turned white and her eyes bulged. He looked back at her with an empty expression, which soon turned to his feet. She turned away, covering her face with her hands, and as a flash of the lightning in the distance shone for a brief moment, she took a few steps away from him. "I'm so _sorry_ Kent! I didn't mean to... Oh! I'm so _stupid_! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"It's... It's O.K. Lyn." He uttered, his eyes still focused on the wooden planks beneath his feet, "I... I'm... It's not as if I really... ever knew them. Besides... it's not as though you don't know what it's like or anything..."

"No!" She shouted back at him, pain and branded upon her face, "It's worse! You _never_ knew them! I was at least given ten long years of peace and joy with my parents before they were taken from me, but you don't even know what your parents looked like! And all your life you've just followed orders, with no one caring for you! You had to rely on just yourself your whole life, with not so much as even a guardian to look after you! And yet, you've served our small kingdom with more loyalty than anyone has ever been expected to... served _me_ with more loyalty than _I_ ever had expected... and yet I've ordered you around like some pawn... as if your whole life wasn't hard enough, I just added to it and... and..." She only breathed steadily as she looked at him with pain-stricken eyes. Then she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. The top of her head was just level with his eyes, and as such, she pressed her face down into one of her (his?) shoulders, as though weeping from pure shame, "I'm sorry Kent... Please, can you ever forgive me?"

He couldn't help but become a bit distracted by her sudden presence. Her arms clung to him, but she quivered slightly, as though she didn't know whether he would find the gesture acceptable. Her scent, the faint undeniable scent of the plains that he assumed must have been with her even since she had left Sacae, filled his nostrils and hit him like a vast, powerful wind that for a moment filled him so completely that he felt as though he could stretch his arms like a pair of wings and take flight beyond the clouds and stars. And of course, there was also a gentle warmth to her, that he couldn't help but find even a little enticing. He embraced her. He couldn't help himself. Not only was his only other option to keep his arms at his sides like some insensitive fool, but he wanted to show that he accepted her pleas. "Lyn... There is nothing to forgive. You have done no wrong. You're a fine woman who's helped me find a place in this world, and I am forever thankful to you for that."

"Kent... thank you..." She gave an unseen smile, and he could have sworn that he felt her wipe a tear off on his shoulder. "Kent...?" She asked, still holding on to him.

"Yes, Lyn?"

"Have I ever... hurt you...?"

"No..."

"_Ever_? I want to know. Please, tell me the truth. If I've ever hurt you, I want to make it up to you in any way that I can."

"Lyn..." He quickly whispered without hesitation, "No. You've never hurt me, and you don't need to be in my debt in any way at all. I'm fine."

"Do you... that is... have you ever thought of me as your friend...?"

"Of course." He whispered. "Lyn, regardless of any separation of rank between you and I, for all the time I've known you, I've thought of you as my friend. I mean that." He gave a small chuckle, "Is there anything else you need me to reassure you of?"

She didn't answer, she only squeezed him a little tighter. A full minute passed. Still, she stayed there. "Kent..." She breathed, "there's one thing in the world I'm afraid of right now." She looked up at him, with the dampness of old tears still caught in her eyes a trifle, "It's going to that island... and dying. If I die, then..." She slowly placed a hand behind his neck, "I won't ever again be able to see my grandfather... or Sacae..." She launched forward and planted her lips against his cheek. The initial contact made him retract a centimeter or two before freezing in place. He couldn't move. His thoughts were extinguished, and his very heart seemed to be exhausted from beating. Even if he had had enough conscious thought to think, he wouldn't have been able to recede from this unexpected turn of events; she had a death grip on him stronger than the grip on her sword during battle. Time went by uncounted and meaningless while they were locked in the position. His eyes closed only out of a lack of strength to keep his eyelids open. The faint, and now almost distant warmth of her didn't even register in his mind. Neither did the thought of anything at all. Not even Fiora. She finally broke off with a quick gasp of air, as though she had just fallen back into reality. She hastily buried her face in his shoulder, an appropriate fusion of fear and embarrassment smeared across her unseen face, and before too long she whispered, "...or you." Her hand gently stroking his neck was the only movement either of them made for what felt like years.

_Lyn... What... Lyn...? You..._

_I can't _believe_ I did that! What have I _done_? That was the biggest mistake of my life! What kind of woman _am _I? What kind of message have I just sent him!? So eager to hold him... kissing him like that with so little provocation! And after having so little contact with him for so long... after being separated ever since we joined up with Eliwood's company... Heavens above, that was almost a _year_ ago! I barely_ know _this man anymore! What am I? A _brothel-girl

_Lyn... Why? Does this mean you...? No... it couldn't... A friend? Just a friend? No... What are you, Lyn? What are you to me?_

_Idiot! You were a fool from the very start of it! A fool to even be attracted to this man in the first place! What did he ever do for you, or you ever do for him? A man swears his loyalty to you, saves your neck a couple of times, and then kisses the very ground you step on like an obedient puppy for over a year... and for _that_, you _fall _for him? No... you go the extra mile... you formulate a plan to get him. But then you procrastinate time and time again... "I don't have enough courage!", "I'm afraid he won't accept me!", "What if there's someone else?" Until finally you're faced against something that you know could easily kill the both of you. And even _then_, you don't have the guts to admit anything, even when you _know_ this may very well be the last chance you get! It's only when by the slimmest of chances... when you're up here crying your eyes out, hating yourself for the choices you've made and all the hundreds of opportunities to free yourself of this burden that you passed up... that he shows up. He shows up! And then you even talk to him like you used to back before we were chained to this journey... back in the days when things were peaceful and happy. You make a bit of a fool of yourself... a few stumbles here and there, yes, but he's still willing to call you his friend and say that he thinks the world of you... even after you offend him... even after you force the most intimate physical contact you two have ever shared upon him without warning or his consent. And then what do you do...? You ruin it! You take every little hard-earned scrap of friendship there ever was between the two of you and burn it in what you thought were the fires of passion! You gambled all and you lost all! You tell him that you fear for the loss of your life, only because you would be tormented by separation from those you care for, before kissing him. But not on the lips! Oh, _no_! You're not brave enough for that, are you, coward! You don't have the integrity to go that far. But you still kiss him. And why...? Because you thought it would be romantic? Because you thought he'd quietly look at you with those adoring eyes of his that you always dreamed of one day focusing on you, as if to say, "I feel the same way, I just never had the courage to admit it to you."? Because you thought then he'd kiss you for the first time in your life, and more deeply than you could have ever imagined... and make sweet, passionate love to you on this very night? And I suppose you thought that after that, once you had defeated Nergal and all the dragons and morphs of this world, you two would run off into the plains where you'd be married, and you'd bear his children, and he'd be a good father to them and a good husband to you and you'd watch them grow up as you watched each other grow old from the years you'd spend together, and the last words of every day would be, "I love you Lyn." and you'd be forever happy... is that what you _really_ thought could ever happen? You're pathetic._

_Deny... just like that...? Why should I? I have no reason to deny her, do I? If that's what she truly feels, then what reason do I-! No... Fiora... What about her...? What _about_ her? Everything between her and I is in shambles, and I know it! What was it anyway that brought us together? A slip of the tongue... one little thing leads to another... and you end up sleeping with her. That's all that there is between you and Fiora: one night of sex when you were both half-mad for all you know! There hasn't been anything significant between you and Fiora, and there never will be, you know this. No! _No_! There _is_ something there! A comfort I feel every time I see her... a yearning for her... a desire to see her happy... to be _with_ her! I would do anything for her... besides... she knows how messed up things are between us just as well as I do, and yet she told me this very _day_ that she wants to get used to what is between us just as much as I do! Fool... you know she's just saying that as a way to apologies for The Night and all the turmoil it's caused us since then! Skies above, it would have been so much better if it had never happened! No... I don't really wish that... The Night brought us... 'together'. Whatever 'together' may mean... All the same, whatever 'together' _does_ mean, I just can't be that with you Lyn... I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to be like this. I wish life didn't have to be like this._

A chilling air seemed to accompany yet another one of the distant lightening-bolts. The air gripped Kent's lungs for a moment, telling him it was far too soon to say anything at all. He broke through the chilling barriers and in a low whisper, he said, "Lyn... I... I don't know what to say..."

"Please..." She said, her voice unexpectedly steady and even, "I'm sorry for the... manner in which I've presented this to you..." Her face came out from it's hiding place in his shoulder, and she looked up at him with a warm, friendly smile, who's complete authenticity was belied only by the remnants of tears in her eyes, "But... All I want from you, Kent, is the truth... please. Just tell me." _I can't stand the aggravation! This teetering on the edge of a cliff will drive me more insane than falling off ever could!_ She screamed in her mind, and so badly wanted to say aloud, but the thought still seemed to come through in the form of something simply unsaid. Yet not unheard.

Her words instantly silenced him of course, and his eyes only turned down. He made no movement, and no indication of an answer. _How do I say this...? It would be so much easier if we weren't holding each other like this. Would it really? Never-mind that, just say it._ He took an intake of air, and looked her straight in the eyes, "Lyn... I... I'm sorry..." His eyes quickly shifted off to the side, "No."

The words flowed over her like a thousand year old river flowed over the the same old boulder that had always split it in half before converging on the other side. She didn't move. Her head tilted down a bit, but she was still smiling, "A-alright... alright..." she said, "That's O.K..." She worked one of her hands between them, placed it on his chest and distanced herself from him.

"Lyn, I-"

"I-It's alright!" She said only slightly louder, and looked up at him with the same smile, "I... I understand. If you don't... well then... you don't. And... I don't want to... force myself upon you or anything."

_So... That's it? No... there must be more! I can feel it! I need to say more than just _that "Lyn... I'm sorry. I just..." He suddenly reconsidered the secrecy he and Fiora had worked hard to keep, and decided not to say anymore.

"What...?"

He winced on the inside, regretting for a moment having said anything at all, "Lyn... I just want you to know that you are not the problem. The problem is... on this side."

"Are you sure?" She hastily asked the moment he finished, "I... I will take no offense at your words, Kent. If I am the problem... then I want you to tell me what it is." Her eyes filled with a hopeful light, and the smile somewhat vanished from her face.

"No..." He said, "No... you are not the problem... I swear."

"Then... Could you at least tell me what is?"

"Lyn..."

"I won't judge you Kent. I swear it."

He tilted his head up to look at her. She didn't have to swear anything, the honesty in her eyes was genuine. "I know."

"Then... won't you tell me?"

"I... no."

"Please...?"

"I'm sorry... I can't."

"What?" She exclaimed, "Why ever not?"

"Because..." He could feel the tension building between them. He had no intention for things to move this fast, but now it looked like things could easily get out of control, "Because... I just can't. I'm sorry. I know this is frustrating."

"It most certainly is!" She retorted, adding a noticeable amount of volume to her words, "I mean... here I am... and I..." She only looked about a bit as if searching for the words but finding none to convey what she needed to say, "...but you..." again she looked around her in vain for words to speak, "Kent... you're... giving me nothing? Nothing at all? Not even a hint?"

"I'm sorry Lyn." His eyes were focused on the ground in shame, "I wish things didn't have to be this complicated, but they are. I hate to do this to you Lyn, I really do, but this is just the way things are."

"Kent..." Her voice was softer now, "Please... I just want some reason... _any_ reason... I don't care what it is, just don't leave me with _nothing_."

"I don't want to."

"Then why are you choosing to do so?" The old tears in her eyes were quickly being added to with new ones, "Kent... I... Don't you know how I feel about you...?"

"Lyn..."

"Do you?"

"I... Lyn... this _does_ mean a lot to me, I mean that, but... I just can't... I'm sorry."

"Answer me..." He could hear her teeth grinding. "Kent... do you know how I feel about you? Do you know what it's like to think about someone, every single night before you fall asleep?"

Those words, almost brought a tear to his eyes. _Lyn... I didn't know it meant that much to you! Why, why, why does it have to be this way?_ "Lyn... you're only making this harder..."

"I'm ordering you!" She suddenly burst out as his head snapped up at attention. There was a real fire in her eyes he seen on few occasions, but never before directed at him. It looked as though her tears were going to boil from all the rage in her face. "I _demand_ that you tell me one reason why! It's bad enough that you reject me, but why must you put me through this hell!? Why must you torment me!?"

"Dammit, Lyn!" He suddenly yelled out through tightly closed eyes, "Of all the men who had ever desired you, why did you have to choose me, the one who didn't!?" A long silence followed his thundering words at the heels. Before too long he opened his eyes. The tears and some of the redness of her face was still there, but she was once again smiling. Of course, this only added to the surprise he felt when he noticed she had closed the distance between them to just under a foot.

"Kent..." She said, laying her head against him, "you just answered your own question." Her arms wrapped around him once more, but this time, there was a major debate in his mind as to whether or not he should push her away. As the debate raged on, she spoke, "Kent... I'm no fool. I know how many of the others look at me... it's not as if I think poorly of them, I respect every one of them just as much as I know they respect me. I've never felt threatened by any of them. But you... you were always different. You were always there. And not just because it was your duty to protect me, but ever since I first met you, I felt like you and I had been friends for years. I couldn't help but be happy with you, and I was always at ease when you were beside me, either on the battlefield, or around the campfire, or at Castle Caelin. You were always there, and you were there willingly. You always seemed to see me for who I was, not what I looked like, nor my political standing, nor what my heritage was. The only person in the world I felt closer to was Florina, and even _she_ was never let in on my little secret." He could feel her cheeks contract in a smile. "Kent, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all of this. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I'm sorry for putting you in this position, and I'm sorry for trying to force you to give me the answer I want to hear."

Stroking her back a bit now, he was beginning to feel sorry for her himself. "Lyn, it's alright. I forgive you... I'm sorry for losing my temper as well, I just..." He let out a lung's-worth of air. He just couldn't seem to think of anything to say. But it seemed alright that way. It felt as though she were content just holding him. Her words were still soaking in, of course, and he took almost a bit of pride at such admiration that she felt for him, but he wouldn't let it get to his head. Still, he never knew that she felt this deeply about him. For the first time it seemed, he suddenly noticed something. Her embrace. Her warmth. The pace of her breathing, and the beat of her heart. She was so alive, this woman. Half of him knew he shouldn't be holding her right now, or at all for that matter, but there was something about this moment. Something about her presence that radiated from her body, saturated into every inch of him, and did not demand but rather asked ever so soothingly for his attention. Something comforting, and gentle. Something he respected. He whispered her name in a calm, low voice, and it slid off his tongue like some fine, rich dessert. She heard her name, and her eyes turned to him. Her gaze was not met with his, for his eyes were closed in thought. _I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here. Why not...?_

The touch of her hand on his cheek opened his eyes and he gave her his completely undivided, if somewhat dreamy, attention. "Kent..." She whispered in a voice the he could have fallen asleep to, "sometimes when I sleep at night... this is what I dream about." His eyes, so recently opened, were once again closed in complete relaxation, "Just... holding you..." She closed her eyes and stood on her toes. When her lips pressed against his, he was barely aware of it. But then he felt Fiora's arms tighten around him, and he suddenly recognized the familiar sensation of her lips against his. After any amount of time between a full minute and a full hour, she delicately detached herself, letting out her steady breathing. He didn't want it to end. He rushed forward and caught Fiora with a kiss, that she replied to with a moan of surprise that quickly turned to joy. He didn't know why Fiora was there, but as far as he was concerned at the moment, the fact that she was there in the first place was the only thing that mattered. Her body shuddered slightly as he wrapped his arms tighter around her. She moaned his name gently as she broke off from the kiss only to remake it as he affectionately ran his fingers through her hair, not finding a single knot in any of it. She gently dug her fingernails into his back as he let his end of the kiss slowly travel down just to the base of her neck. Fiora loosened her embrace to give him more room as she sighed gently. His hands traveled up to the neck of her uniform. He undid the fastenings as well as he could figure out, and peeled it down just far enough that her shoulders became exposed. His trail of kisses came to around her collarbone, while a single hand moved down and lovingly traced the soft skin of her thigh. She tilted her head back and gasped at the sensual touch, wrapping a leg around him. He didn't know why he felt so bold right now, but everything within him felt that he wanted this, and detected no reason to stop. "Kent..." Fiora moaned. He moved up and kissed as tenderly as he could the lips of the one he knew he adored, holding her to him as closely as possible.

Finally, Fiora broke the contact and slowly moved back from him. Kent opened his eyes. And saw Lyn. He saw her closed eyes, her long emerald hair, and his own hands that were clasped around her uncovered shoulders. Her eyelids parted as she looked at him dreamily. His hold on her body was released in an instant as he took a small step back. "Lyn..." He said softly, barely able to realize what he had nearly done. He pushed her back. He stumbled out of the close embrace, and they both almost fell over as a result, but he kept backing up, forcing more distance between them. He deliberately looked away from her, and ran off. He didn't know why, but right now, the only thing he could think of doing was getting away from her. It was quite late, and he only now began to notice how extraordinarily tired he was, and as a result, he could barely break into little more than a brisk jog as opposed to the full-out run he had been expecting. It wasn't long before he stopped by a mast (one that was as wide as a small house and the smallest one on the ship) and leaned against it. He brought the bottom of his fist down hard on the wooden surface, and if not for his state of near exhaustion, he might have made a small dent in it.

_Damn you. You can't control yourself! Why can't you control yourself? What kind of a message do you think you're sending her when you hold her like that? What kind of a message do you think you're sending her when you kiss her like that? You let yourself be seduced, and then if things had kept going the way they were, you would have slept with that woman. Admit it! You would have! If that's what you crave so badly, then just do it already! What you're doing right now is helping you in no way whatsoever, and it's taunting Lyn, and it's betraying Fiora. You can't carry on like this, you know it! So just sleep with the woman already! Do it once. Tell her that you can't be with her, and this is all you can give her, and pray that she understands and that it doesn't haunt you for the rest of your life. At least that will relieve some of the tension, won't it? You can close your eyes the whole time, and pretend it's Fiora. You've just done that now, and it worked pretty good, didn't it? Or you could keep your eyes open, if you desire Lyn more. Or not! Maybe you don't have to do any of that at all! Maybe you can just fix all your problems by killing her. You're stronger than her, and she wouldn't be expecting it. I can see her now, in a heap on the floor, nurturing a broken rib or two, her eyes streaming tears, "Why, Kent? Why?" You'd advance on her, and she wouldn't raise a finger against you as you beat down on her pretty face. Oh, she'd probably scream, wouldn't that be a shame? So break her jaw. Don't break her heart, just enough of her bones to shut her up for good. Silence that woman who adored you so much, and knew you for those short years, and you barely ever gave a second thought to. Then, toss her out to sea, you don't care about her, do you? You don't care about Fiora, either. You probably don't care about anyone but yourself, and even if that's true, you certainly do hurt yourself a lot for someone so selfish. Oh, there are so many ways to solve this little mess you've gotten yourself into! Isn't that delightful! So many choices, so many possibilities! You haven't considered forgetting about Fiora yet! You haven't considered pushing Lyn away yet! So many options. So chose one. Just chose one, and be done with it, because what you're doing right now is- _"Don't touch me." He whispered in a cold voice. Lyn retracted her hand and took a step back.

She could think of nothing to do other than attempt to confront him. He had barely moved for quite a while, and she couldn't help but worry about him. "Kent, I just wanted to-"

"Quiet!" She closed her mouth, unsure of what to do, or how to nurture the hurt she suddenly felt inside. "Please, don't say anything! Don't touch me! Don't look at me! Don't think about me! Don't... don't..."

She was on the verge of tears, "Kent, please, try to understand. Kent... I-"

"Don't! Please, Lyn, don't say it!"

"Kent..." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, "All I ever did was-"

"Lyn..." He let out a sigh, "Damn it all to hell... there's someone else."

The silence that followed felt like it could have smothered a mountain back into the earth. "W-What...?"

"There's someone else, Lyn. There's someone else. Someone who... She..." He took a moment to pull himself together enough so say something meaningful, "Her and I... share something that I never knew existed before it happened to us. We've known each other for so long and only discovered our feelings for each other so unexpectedly. But once we _did_ discover it, I felt like I had known her my whole life and I am... completely devoted to her. And though it's sometimes difficult for me to admit it to her, I care for her more dearly than my own life. She's everything to me, Lyn... everything. And we swore to keep what was between us a secret, if only to have some sense of security in this mad world we live in. That's why, Lyn. That's why I just can't be with you." He was still turned away from her, but he could sense that she was still there at least.

Lyn stared at her feet, completely robbed of words. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. In the end, she just shut her mouth and for a moment, she felt like never saying anything ever again. The moment passed by faster than the bolt of lightning that had just shone in the distant skies, and she voiced, "I'm sorry!" She nearly startled herself with the haste of her words, but soon continued, albeit somewhat slower, "Kent... I'm sorry... I didn't mean for... Kent, had I known that that was the case, then I would have..." _Not changed a thing._ Her subconscious finished, which she proceeded to mentally kick herself for.

"Lyn, there's nothing for you to be sorry for. I should have told you... I should have told you instead of..." He let out a deep sigh and hung his head a bit lower, "It was wrong for me to yell at you the way I did, and for that, as well as not just telling you the truth of the situation, I sincerely apologize. I don't know what I was thinking, or what I thought I could accomplish by keeping this from you. If I've hurt you, I can only tell you that it was never my desire to do so, and I wish so dearly that I hadn't made a bigger mess out of things than they already are." _You have to face her. Come on now! Turn yourself around and prove that you mean what you're saying._ With a breath of courage, he pivoted on his heels and faced her. She stood before him with tears in her eyes and an expression on her face devoid of any idea of what to do. Had she been any other woman, he would have embraced her if only for the sake of being there to console her. But she was who she was, and he kept himself on a very short leash.

"Kent..." She whispered through a sniffle, "I..." She hung her head and stared at the ground for a long moment. Just before he was about to say something to destroy the ever growing silence, she turned her face up with a smile truly adorning her lips. "Kent... I'm happy for you." She rubbed out a tear from her eye, "I shouldn't cry over something like this Kent. I want to be... No, I _am_ glad that this has happened to you. I'm glad that you've found someone and I hope that..." _I can't do this... I can't say this... It's a lie, it's all a miserable lie. There is some truth to it. There is. That doesn't matter... I can't go on like this... I want him to be happy but..._ "Kent..." She whispered as the tears quietly cascaded down her cheeks, some splattering almost deafeningly on the wooden deck. Her eyes came up to meet his, and looking at him through the veil of her tears, she whispered, "Kent... I want you to be happy. But... if..."

"Of course!" He pulled her in, entirely on instinct. At that moment, he didn't care anymore; he felt a duty not as a Knight to his Lady, not as a friend to a friend, but as a human to another human. An inner conscience established since the dawn of their species that wouldn't let him live in peace if he didn't console her in _some_ way. So he did. He already knew what it was she would ask, and he wasn't about to stand by and hear her plead. "Of course I would Lyn... Of course I would." As he stroked the back of her head, he felt himself waking up from what he thought had been a cold sleep. _I mean these words... I can feel it. I know it. But would such a thing ever come to pass? Would such a day ever dawn? I don't want to think about that..._

Whimpering his name, she began to bawl into his shoulder, breaking as if with her bare hands the chains that had been holding her down inside. He could only pat her back in silence as she continued to weep. She didn't know why she was doing this, but it _was_ refreshing to knock down the dam that had subtly built up over the course of this whole night. So she wept. She wept without thinking of anything other than all that had happened, which was no small amount, and how it was somehow finally being... resolved? She thought back on the ways in which she had hoped this would play out. All of that joy, all of those blissful thoughts of romance and happily ever afters. That wasn't the way life worked. She knew this now. _What have you learned, Lyn? Will you be any better now? Will this change your life, or is this just something that everyone's gone through? Maybe it doesn't matter... Maybe it does... Either way, I'm glad that he's still here..._ Her sobs subsided. She rubbed her eyes out with her palms and squeezed him heartily. "Thank you." It was all she could think to say.

"Of course, Lyn." He whispered as soothingly as he knew how.

"Please... Promise me one thing Kent." She looked into his eyes with a serious stare, "At least make her happy. Whoever she may be, please don't waste what you couldn't give to me. Whatever the circumstances of your bond, knowing you, I am sure she deserves it. And above all else, let me rest assured that _you_ will be happy as well."

"I promise you Lyn..." He replied, holding her hands between them, and giving them a shake as if to emphasize his words, "I promise."

She gave him a hug that felt like true friendship. "Thank you." She closed her eyes, never wanting the moment to end, "Thank you for being there for me."

He let the tranquil moment soak in. He couldn't exactly figure out why, but he wanted things to stay like this at least for a while. He wanted there to be a break after all that had happened. The whole night had gone on longer than he could have ever anticipated. Right on cue, a thought that he realized _needed_ to be addressed hit him as hard as the flash of lightening in the distance hit his eyes. "Lyn, it's very late. We need to be prepared for tomorrow." She broke away from him and nodded, suddenly realizing why she had been feeling so tired. He offered her his arm in a small gesture of charity and she took it whole-heartedly, leaning against his shoulder in the process. "I'll still always be your friend, Lyn..." He whispered to her before they took even a single step forward, "No matter what, you'll always have my friendship..." She said nothing in reply as her hair draped down both of their backs like a large cloak, and they walked in the direction of the doorway back into the ship half in each other's arms. Kent continued to chant in his mind that he was only doing this for Lyn and that he and to keep himself on a very short leash. Lyn, however, only soaked in his radiant warmth and gathered whatever scraps of enjoyment that she could from the contact.

They spoke not a word as they walked slowly through the corridors, careful not to break the intimacy of the moment. Even if it had all been based around denial and loss, they both found at least _some_ comfort in the contact. Then they reached the entrance of Kent's room, and he broke the connection they were sharing and was confronted with the issue of how to leave her; finding it rather difficult to come to a solution. All the same, he turned to her and realized something that needed to be taken care of. "Here..." He said as he readjusted her garments that he still could not believe he had attempted to pull away, "Let me fix this up." She giggled slightly as she gave a nod. Her eyes were almost blinded from crying so much, and there was agony in her soul, yet she couldn't help but find his friendliness to be such a nice thing. Kent's mind was racing to find a way to part with her properly as he rolled her neckline back up over her shoulders, and redid the fastens as best as he could figure out how. As he smoothed the clothing out, he looked upon her and saw that there were still remnants of tears in her eyes, but they were subdued by the smile that dominated her features. He wiped the last few tears away as she reveled in the touch of his hand upon her cheek, and then cupped her face in his hands. "This is to show..." He whispered tenderly, "that I _do_ care for you Lyn..." he leaned in and, willingly, placed a kiss on her forehead. He dwelled upon the contact just a bit, but reminded himself not to get carried away and slowly moved back from it.

As Lyn peacefully opened her eyes, she whispered, "And _this_ is to show..." she wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed a kiss on his lips. _Thank you Kent... _She thought as he too enfolded his arms around her,_ you broke my heart, and I nearly died from it, but you at least let me know how you felt. You let me know that it wasn't just a dream... it was at least a possibility. Thank you for your charity, thank you for being so gentle even when you had to reject me. I love you..._ The kiss developed more and more, rapidly gaining momentum. In the depths of her soul something told her this could very well be the last kiss she would ever share with him, and even if it hurt him, even if she hurt the woman he was with, even if it hurt _her_, she wanted to make this last. Her arms tightened around him further, fully aware of her sinful actions, but he tightened his side of the embrace as well and she forgot her doubts. His lips slowly danced with hers for what he knew was too long as they prolonged the kiss. At every passing heartbeat the urge to push her away multiplied, but still he continued the sweet contact.

Heartbeat by heartbeat, the tension inside him grew and grew. Finally he drew the line and decided to force her back, but it was at this very moment that she decided to break the kiss herself. Catching her breath, she gently whispered into his ear, "That is to show... that no matter where my life takes me, you will always be dear to me in every way, Kent." She came around and looked into his eyes as she continued in a normal voice, "Thank you for giving me everything you could... I'll never forget how wonderful you made me feel... I'm glad we tonight."

"So am I..." He smiled, "So am I Lyn. I'll never forget this night... nor you. You'll always be special to me... always. Goodnight."

"Thank you..." She whispered with a slight spark of a new happiness in her eyes. She leaned in towards him once again, but this time instead of kissing him she just hugged him and rested her chin on his shoulder. He responded in what he knew was the right way, and once again embraced her. She wasn't squeezing him, rather her touch was soft, almost delicate, and he let her relax in the warmth and quiet intimacy of the hug for as long as he dared. "Goodnight, Kent... Get some sleep." She let go of him and walked away, down the dark, wooden corridor. Her touch finally left his hand, and Kent couldn't help but notice that he held on to it for as long as he could.

He stood there for a moment, then threw his head back and let out a heavy sigh as he felt the last tremendous weight lifted off his shoulders. Kent walked in and almost fell to the floor with exhaustion, but quickly steadied himself against the doorway. He could have fallen asleep standing where he was, but he shook off the temptation long enough to collapse into bed. _You need some good sleep tonight... you've got a big day tomorrow. Everyone does. Even..._ His eyes landed on Fiora. Fiora, the woman that held him back from the woman who had just left him, and he was raked with regret and somberness. _I'm sorry Fiora... Please forgive me... please know that I _was_ loyal to you. I was tempted, and I did test those waters, and I wish so deeply that I hadn't. I would sooner die than betray you. But I will still never be able to tell you... This was between Lyn and I, and no one else. It's not that I regret being with you, Fiora! I don't feel as though you are a burden on my life! I just wish that I didn't have to hurt her so... And I wish that you and I could just... be._ He walked closer to her, but all he could see was the back of her head because of her sleeping position. He was thankful for that though. Even if she was sleeping and her eyes were closed, he couldn't bear to look her straight in the face. He reached out to stroke her hair, to remind himself of how incredibly real she was, of how much he truly did care for and desire her. He wanted nothing more than to confront her with the feelings he'd been harboring for her, and prove once and for all that she _was_ special to him, and he _would_ go to any lengths for her. But he withdrew his hand, reconsidering when the thought of waking her crossed his mind.

He quietly exhaled, and sat down right below her on the side of his bunk, removing his shoes. He laid down in a simple heap and continued his thinking. _I'm so sorry Lyn. I never wanted for things to be like this, but it was the only way! I belong with Fiora, even though it may very well be years before her and I can even hold hands without feeling awkward about it, but it just doesn't seem right that you had to suffer because of that..._

_Should it really be this difficult? Do I really have to feel so bad about rejecting someone when there is already someone else that I belong to?_

_Lyn felt something for me... something no one has ever felt for me before..._

_What about Fiora? Are you so quick to forget her?_

_But Lyn had felt that way about me probably before I even _met_ Fiora! And all that time, she thought for sure that I would return those feelings! Every time she looked at me, her eyes had been filled with desire and I hardly even gave her so much as a passing glance! She had dreamt that I would reciprocate, and I shattered those dreams like they were nothing! Not only that, but I told her those yearnings had long since been crushed and that for all that time she had been living a lie..._

_I'm sorry Lyn... I'm sorry I couldn't... couldn't feel _that_ for you! I only hope that I was gentle enough..._

Unexpectedly, he remembered Lyn's face. Her sighs of joy during that last, bitter-sweet kiss. The way she had nuzzled his nose with hers afterwards, just as a lasting thought of affection. And the way she thanked him as though she were now an eternal friend, bound to him in every imaginable way. He had been so caught up in guilt at the time, he hadn't really taken notice of how bright her smile shone.

_It was worth it. It was a traitorous, horrible, disloyal thing to do... but somehow, I know it was worth it._

_I suppose that I should thank you for feeling that way about me Lyn. Besides Fiora, you were the only woman who ever did._

_I should have told her that... She would have like to hear it. Oh, it's too late for that now I suppose._

_Wow... and to think, all I wanted to do was get some fresh air! Well, I got my fresh air... and a lot more than that too. Let's hope my luck is different trying to get some sleep. I _need_ some sleep._

&

Some hours later, in a far off corner of the ship, Lyn still lay awake. Her tears had long since stained her face, and they continued to pour from her eyes for what seemed to be years. She didn't want to go back to being a slave to her emotions, but to accept her fate seemed like an even worse decision. _But I have no choice! He's already bound to someone else. And I cannot, and _will not_ interfere with that! How would I feel if he were to leave me, just to be with another woman?_

_Oh, stop your groveling! You're a grown woman, so act like one! Have some courage; it's not the end of the world, or your life for that matter! He is going to be with someone he cares for, and _you_ are going to move on. There are plenty of men out there who look at you with respect, and admiration, and not blind lust. You are a strong, kind, beautiful woman, and if finding someone to love is your deepest desire, then you will not have difficulty achieving your dreams, and carrying on with the life your parents gave you._

_I still love him..._

_That is understandable! There is nothing wrong with that! Just so long as you do not let it control and consume you, you will be fine._

Lyn smiled. She remembered that through everything that had happened this night, her and Kent had parted on good terms. She remembered the warmth of that last hug she had shared with him, and she couldn't help but be glad that things had turned out for the best, considering all the worst that had come to pass.

_Thank you Kent. You couldn't give me what I sought, and you _had_ to deny me, but at least you were as gentle with it as you could. You were._

FIN!

Whew! A bit on the emotional side, eh? Hope you liked it! Please, Review! I can't wait to hear what you thought of this chapter, critiques, predictions, assessments, all that jazz!

Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to churn out... and I hope to get it out before the end of the summer. See you all there! This fic still has quite a ways to go...


	6. Violence

Exactly one month late, but this is my 18th birthday present to you, my fellow readers! (yeah, that's right, I can vote now! Worship my unlimited power of the mail-in ballot! MWA-HA-HA-HA!)

Silliness aside, I thank every single one of you who have given me so many reviews, even if the last chapter was one hell of a wild-card if I do say so myself!

In case you haven't noticed, there is a reason why I post this chapter, namely why I post it today. One reason is that I think the last chapter was posted after an unusually long delay, and I wanted things to be a little different this time around. The second reason is the fact that I am a rather devout Halo fan, and seeing as the 3rd game comes out tomorrow, I'm probably going to be spending a good deal of time in front of my Xbox-360 in the coming weeks as opposed to using spare time for writing. But I won't forget about you! You have my word on that.

Now for all of you nit-pickers who get annoyed at Nils not making his appearance in this chapter quite the same way as he does in the game giving you a supposedly helpful Earthseal, (which in my opinion isn't worth so much as it's weight in dirt that late in the game) I suggest that you hush up! This is my fic! Which reminds me of something I musty verify...

I do not own Fire Emblem, or its respective characters.

ONWARD!

The entire party disembarked from Fargus's ship on a sunny morning, unloading from it themselves, their weapons, their armor, and their will to go to whatever lengths were necessary to eliminate the man who was perhaps the only human inhabitant of this island. The process was all done quietly, efficiently, and above all else, cautiously. The last time the battalion visited Valor, they had been attacked almost as soon as they set foot on the island, and their trip went downhill from there. But now, even though their numbers had more than doubled, and their skill and cunning on the battlefield had grown by leaps and bounds to a nearly unparalleled level, they remained vigilant. The entire group had formed themselves, under Mark's supervision, into a broad column that moved forward at a very cautious pace. Heath and Vaida were high up in the clear skies, trying to spot the enemies' stronghold, or anything else unexpected, but so far they'd had no success. Priscilla, Kent, and Fiora were among those at the head of the column, along with Mark, Nils, and the three lords. Priscilla was silent, relying on only the instincts of her well-trained steed to carry her. She and every other magic user in the group, all of whom had been strategically placed along the convoy, were concentrating on channeling their inner Quintessence to further enhance their sixth sense as a precaution against anything that might escape the eyes of the fliers above them.

Despite all of the events surrounding him, however, Kent was preoccupied with brushing his fingers against the razor edge of his sword, a nervous habit of his. He had every right in the world to be a bit distracted of course. It was one of the rare instances in his life where personal matters were interfering with his inner soldier. When Kent and Fiora woke up that morning, neither one of them said much. The awkwardness of their little encounter last night was still hanging in the air, but aside from that, the duties of preparing for battle didn't set a very social atmosphere. In fact, they had been traveling for well over an hour since they first left the ship, and in that whole time they hadn't said anything at all. He watched a thin strip of some of his skin fall to the ground as the sharp blade shaved it off with ease, and listened to his stomach give another low growl. He wished he'd have gotten a little more to eat this morning.

"It's been so long since I've thought of them..." Fiora suddenly whispered to Kent as their mounts trotted through the loose scattering of trees.

"Thought of who?" Kent asked. It was difficult to covertly talk to her with his helmet on, but he knew he had to be fully prepared.

"My comrades, Kent. I don't blame you for forgetting about them, I hardly ever bothered to mention them to you, and I've almost completely forgotten their faces myself." From out of the corner of his eye, he could see she was quite somber, "Their bodies are buried under the dirt of this very island. I buried them with these hands, and now, all that I recall from the experience was how terrible I felt... How I wished that I could have prevented the deaths of people whose names I barely took the time to remember... All I could do was give them a mass funeral, and try to get revenge for the lives of some women I barely..." She didn't say any more.

"Fiora..." Kent whispered, "I do remember now. I recall asking your sister about it long ago, and she told me what you told her. It was not your fault Fiora, no one could have prevented it. And even afterward, you dealt with it the best that you could. It was a reconnaissance mission, and neither you nor anybody else knew what to expect. And I might add that few would have been strong enough to carry on after what you went through, and for that, among many other things, you have my admiration."

"Thank you..." She sighed, a tone in her voice that told him she still felt bad about it, "I appreciate your praise, but it's not _just_ the fact that I misjudged our situation, it's more the fact that they are dead that saddens me."

"Still... now is not the time to be thinking about such things." He truly did not want to say those words. More than any thing else, he wanted to console her on this matter, it was important to him, but his years of experience told him that now was the time to keep alert. "We must let our minds focus on the task at hand, on destruction of Nergal, and on an attack that we must be ready to counter as soon as possible."

"I know..." She whispered back, "I know that had I never lost them, I probably would never have joined this group, and therefore never... Well, you know..." Out of the corner of his eye, Kent saw the corner of her lips curl in a small smile, "But all the same, it just doesn't seem right that they had to suffer for that."

The last few words she spoke suddenly sent a shiver down his spine as memories grabbed ahold of him. As if of their own will, his eyes shifted to look at Lyn, and he could only see the back of her; her long, highly-bound emerald hair swishing from side to side as she walked along. In fact, she was leading the column of troops, as though she didn't want anybody to see her face.

"Don't worry Fiora," he quietly whispered, refocusing his eyes straight forward, "in this invasion, we will avenge every last one of them. We will wipe clean from this island and this entire continent every single trace of the old man who lives here. And above all else, I promise you that you and I shall both see to the end of this day."

"Kent..." She whispered soothingly. But Nils stopped in his tracks, causing Mark to follow suit, as well as Lyn, then Eliwood and Hector, and soon the entire group halted their march.

"What's wrong, Nils?" Mark asked, staring at Nils cautiously, as if the small fellow were about to explode right in front of him. Nils's red eyes were glowing and pulsing with their light, and his hair moved about uneasily. The almost intimidating spectacle was cut short when he closed his eyes and held up his hand, causing total silence to fall on the whole group.

Silence followed, and after a while, people began to murmur to themselves about what was going on. None of them noticed the clouds that were gathering overhead. Then, without warning, Nils opened his eyes. Wide. "Danger!" He yelled, almost in a panic, "Murder! Fire! Bad thing coming! Run! Everybody get away from here! _Now!_" He began to charge at everybody, ushering them away from where they were like a shepherd leading his flock, but nobody needed to be told twice. The individuals at the head of the column immediately dispersed in all directions, running not towards any particular destination, just away from where they were. This process was quickly sped up when an impossibly massive bolt of lightning struck the ground where Nils had once stood with an explosion that threw everybody back with tremendous force. Those further back in the column immediately came to the aid of the others, helping them up and quickly treating whatever injuries there were. Before too long, Heath and Vaida came falling out of the sky, landing in a loud heap, together with their wyverns. Heath's body was black and charred where it wasn't red and bleeding, his armor half melted in some parts, and his body steaming. He was barely moving, and Hyperion looked none the better, if not worse. And while Vaida was just fine save for a broken arm and leg that Erk quickly began mending, Umbriel had a gaping, sizzling hole that went right through the skin of the creature's left wing.

"What happened up there?" Mark asked, shoving himself through bodies as he rushed to Vaida.

"How the _hell_ should I know, you arrogant frog!" Vaida barked in responded as Erk covered her broken limbs in blue light, "You know, maybe I should gut you like a fish in the middle of the night and ask you in the morning what kind of dreams you had!"

"This is neither the time, nor the place for another argument, Vaida!" Mark snapped back amongst the din of people running about, some helping the wounded, some calling for help over here or there, and others getting their weapons ready for an impending attack, "In case you hadn't noticed, I have to maintain some semblance of order around here, not to mention be ready to direct this army in case of an attack, and you have got to show me some respect and tell me what I want to know, now!"

"Oh, shove it up your ass already!" Despite her injuries she staggered to her good leg, much to Erk's apparent dissatisfaction, and pulled her sword from her side with her only good arm, "I don't give a damn who you are, I'm going to make you eat those words, and when I'm done with you, there won't be just _one_ part of your body you can't get up!"

"Vaida, put the sword down, right now!" Mark yelled, almost looking foolish standing his ground.

She raised it instead, but before she could bring it down, a blow was landed against one of her already smashed ribs, and the Woman Who Never Felt Pain couldn't help but fall back to the ground. Erk twirled his staff intimidatingly in front of the fallen Vaida, who only gave a low growl at him. "Thank you very much Erk, I appreciate your-" Mark went silent when a small plume of fire formed just over the bridge of his nose, singeing his eyebrows.

"I'll tell you two to shut up once!" Erk declared to both of them, as every other healer turned their attention to Heath a ways behind them, "Now, I don't have to heal a wound if I don't want to... and I _can't_ if others are distracting me. So either you two get along, or we all suffer, and not because of me."

A silence surrounded the three for a few moments, in spite of the good deal of noise going on about them. Then Vaida slowly staggered to her feet and addressed Mark as though none of the confrontation had happened, "We saw a light off in the distance. I've only been to this island on a few privileged occasions before, but I think that it came from the direction of the ruins about the Dragon's Gate... which should be due north-east of here. Once the light flashed, it looked like a good few dozen red individuals just appeared all over the place between here and the Dragon's Gate. That's when the lightning struck, and my attention was needed elsewhere. Now will you get on with this damned leg, Erk?"

With that, Mark gave a quick thanks and turned tail to leave, and Erk began muttering a few incantations with his staff pointed to Vaida's wounds. Mark looked about him as he walked, as if to reaffirm to himself that everyone was doing their part to recover as quickly as possible. It was a bit amazing to see the army he prided himself as having trained helping each other and working together so well, but he reminded himself that he wasn't exactly responsible for even a singe enemy wound, and his ego once again deflated as it usually did, and he pulled himself out of his small little cloud of personal thoughts. When Mark was certain that Heath and his mount were no longer fatally injured, (though they both still looked like they'd been sent tumbling down a hill in a large kiln) he gathered together the words he'd been forming in his head, and climbed up a few branches of a nearby tree. "Alright everyone!" His voice erupted as loud as it could, catching everyone's attention even sooner than he had anticipated, "We've got a horde of the bastards that attacked Ostia heading our way! These guys aren't pushovers, as all of you should know, so I want three hundred percent from everyone! Now let's get into Formation Three, and get going! Heading north people! _Move_!" His orders were quickly acted upon as everyone scattered to their positions, while others helped Heath, Hyperion, and Umbriel move to the center of the formation. The tactician caught Priscilla's eye, pointed at her, and then to the ground directly below him. By the time he had hopped back to the ground, he said to the approaching valkyrie, "Priscilla, I need you to gather Kent and Fiora, and get them over..." He looked up and found that she had brought the other two with her to begin with. "Right..." Mark said, impressed with Priscilla's foresight, "You best get moving now." Mark said to the three before him, "We'll follow as soon as we can. Travel between the mountains, then cross the forrest, the river, and clear out as many morphs as you can from the ruins around the Dragon's Gate and get rid of anything you can along the way. Got it?" They all gave a quick nod in the affirmative. "Good, now mount up, and move!"

The three needed little more motivation, and following their orders, they all broke off from the rest of the troop with as much speed as they could manage without exerting their white mounts. In just a matter of a few minutes, they were almost a quarter of a mile away from their allies.

As the three approached the mountain pass, Fiora turned to Kent and asked, "Standard tactic?"

"Seems ideal for this situation, sure." Kent replied. He looked to Priscilla and said, "Just stick with me. Fiora will take care of us from above."

"I know," Priscilla replied with a smile of confidence, "You've told me all about this. I'll figure out what to do, you'll see!"

Fiora had already begun to take to the skies, the powerful wings of her pegasus beating with a beauty that belied the objective of going into battle. As Fiora gained additional altitude, Kent and Priscilla pressed onward; passing between the mountains, and soon found themselves in the middle of a grassy field that must have been some fifteen or twenty acres wide at the least. There were three cavaliers moving towards them as well as a sage, and the two mentally divided up their targets. Eyeing the magical opponent he was heading towards, and taking no small notice of the fire it was conjuring amongst its nimble fingers, Kent positioned his shield in front of him as his horse galloped with ease through the grass that would have otherwise reached past his waist. He wasn't sure of exactly how much force he would be receiving, but when the blast of fire hit his shield, his fist was flung towards him and bloodied his nose. He let the pain slide, held his shield outward more firmly, and began to breathe through his mouth. The second blast of fire hit when he was ready, and the flames were quick to dissipate from the combination of speed and the surface of his shield, but a sudden rise in temperature with the third blast told him that he couldn't exactly keep this up for the rest of the day. The third blast lasted longer than the last two. Just because a shield is made of a perfect combination of steel and ceramics, doesn't mean that it won't heat up when enough fire is applied. When the third blast ceased, he peaked over his shield for his target. He was close now. Just as he felt the final blast of flame finish hitting him, he lowered his glowing hot shield and kicked into the sides of his horse, one foot after another, a command it knew all too well. The stallion leapt into the air, and launch the both of them clean over the sage's head. With a trident-pronged lance in hand, Kent reached down and behind him in perhaps one of the most flawlessly executed single killing strokes of his life. Or at least, that's what he thought just before a few thousand volts of electricity ran up the lance and into his body.

_Shake it off! Shake it off! You're heart hasn't stopped YET! Open your eyes!_ Obeying the orders that years of training had drilled into his brain, Kent opened his eyes, dazed. The lighting that had rocketed through his body was not quite enough to put him down, but had it been a bit more powerful, he probably wouldn't have this much control over his muscles. He was actually surprised that he was still on the back of his horse. Relying almost purely on the ancient technique of mind-over-matter to overcome the sudden paralysis, Kent saw a blur in the grassy distance moving about. Towards him.

His eyes quickly regained their focus and the swordmaster that was quickly approaching him with lightning speed in a very random zig-zag pattern now became a much bigger threat than he first assumed. Giving himself barely half a breather, and wiping the blood from his nose off on his sleeve, Kent charged to this new opponent head on, and once he was within range he made a swipe with his lance at the morph only to find that his enemy was not there. He heard something behind him and turned his body around just in time to block a mid-air slash from the morph. Their weapons had only just clashed when the morph seemed to disappear again, and Kent found the swordmaster at his side making a stab for him which skimmed his back and would have drawn blood if not for his light undershirt of mail. Kent was just reconsidering kicking into the sides of his horse to get away and rethink his strategy with renewed enthusiasm, when the swordmaster (who by this point had started to drop right down on top of Kent in another attack) was blasted back by the burst of flame Priscilla had shot forth from her fingertips. The nimble morph fell to the ground with burn marks spread about its body, and twitched once or twice before laying still.

"Sorry that took so long." Priscilla stated as she healed up Kent's nose, "I just couldn't get my aim where I wanted."

"It's alright-!" Kent replied as he winced in slight pain. Wound-healing sometimes hurt when the process was conducted too hastily. "Looks like you took care of those horsemen well enough, but it appears that we've got some more coming our way to worry about." He nodded to well over a dozen morphs on horseback riding towards them.

"What about those wyverns in the distance?" She asked.

Kent looked up and spotted them. Then he noticed a white dot against the blue sky and said, "Fiora will take care of them." He waved to the tiny point of white in the sky with his lance. Fiora waved back down to him and brought her gaze to the fliers ahead of her. She was much higher than they were, and she could tell that they had not taken any notice of the winged horse she rode. She couldn't have asked for a better set up. Maintaining her altitude, she flew towards them with as much speed as she could without tiring her partner in the skies. Below her, she saw Kent and Priscilla engage in fierce combat with a group of horsemen, killing some, leaving others bloodied on the plains, and the half-dozen wyverns she had been approaching were closing in on their position, but not quite there yet. Before too long, she was right above the mass of winged morphs, and she knew it was her time to strike. She whispered a few commands into the ear of her Pegasus, tightened an old steel sword around her waist, grabbed a javelin in each hand, and fell of the side of her mount.

For a handful of seconds, she relaxed as she let all the amazing sensations of total free-fall wash over her, soothing her mind after the initial leap of her heart as she closed her eyes for just a moment. Her hair whipped around her face as she opened her eyes and looked up at her steed that quickly became smaller and smaller. Once she felt she had hit her terminal velocity, she lazily turned about, and her mind was pulled back into the fight. With all the strength she could muster, she hurled one of her javelins straight downward, hitting the lowest flying of the wyverns; instantly killing it as well as grasping the attention of the others, just as she landed on the wing of one of the wyverns. This was intended to slow her descent as much as possible, but when she first hooked onto the thin, strong membrane with one of the barbs of her spear, the force almost yanked her arm out of its socket. She held on with all her might, and her descent soon came to an abrupt stop, leaving her dangling in mid air from the wing of a wyvern that was franticly flapping its other wing to keep altitude with little success. This did however make her a very obvious target for the other riders, and from every direction a lance was thrown at her.

But she let go of the lance she'd been holding on to, and the only thing her enemies hit was the creature she had been hanging from. She had just landed on the back of a passing wyvern when its rider turned and delivered a hard fist to her gut. She was thrown back a bit by the force of the hit, but otherwise unfazed by the punch that had landed on little more than reflexive muscles as hard as rock. In a flash, she snapped the being's outstretched arm. Fiora waisted no time in unsheathing the sword at her side, and letting it slice the neck of the rider in one clean motion. Fiora knocked the corpse out of the way and down to the ground, then grabbed the reins of the wyvern she now rode quickly enough that she took it by surprise and pulled its head as far back as she could. She clutched her weapon with a death-grip, and with a yell and all the strength she could muster, she brought the sword down between the creature's shoulder and neck, slashing deep enough that her weapon only stopped when it had passed through the heart. Yanking her sword out of the dead beast, Fiora leapt off and fell towards her Pegasus that had come swooping towards her. _Wow..._ she thought in the middle of her descent, _that's one of the best-!_ Her eyes widened and she barely managed to grasp the edge of her saddle before falling to her doom.

"_Priscilla!_" Fiora screamed aloud as her only free hand dropped her sword to reach up and pull herself further up on her pegasus that was desperately trying evade the pursuing three wyvern riders. With her heart racing and her breath coming fast, she pulled herself up into the saddle of her mount with some difficulty. "_Priscilla!_" She screamed louder than she thought possible as she reached behind her and felt the spear protruding from her back. Tears burst from her eyes as she yanked it out, and with one hand she applied as much pressure to the wound as possible, while she used her other to tug at the reins to better guide the creature beneath her. She swerved as best as she could, constantly glancing back over her shoulder. The pain of her wounded kidney was topped only by the panic she was enduring. _Calm down! Calm down! You've had it worse than this before! When? Doesn't matter!_ She quickly glanced down to the ground. _Priscilla's busy... I'm going to have to deal with it for now... This is what you get for being too daring! You're better than this! You should have-!_ She turned her head just in time to spot a spear that whistled past her shoulder. _Focus! Focus! O.K... behind me... far... I must get them farther away... Left! Harder left! Right! Straight! Did I...? No, still behind me... faster... please, my companion... please... faster! Owwwww... it hurts so bad..._ Gaining a little speed, she suddenly pulled into a steep dive. _Dive... Dive... fall... fall... faster... Turn, now! Kill!_ With her better arm, Fiora pulled out a javelin, and held it at the ready. The blood in her hands was loosening her grip, and furthermore, she knew her attack was a large gamble, but she had no other options. The two wyvern riders that had followed her into the dive were bearing down on her with claws fully extended and jaws snapping. When she was close enough that her opponent could not swerve out of the way, she hurled her weapon with a scream from the pain it caused her. She hit her mark, and she had already moved out of the way of where its body fell. She already had her silver lance in hand when she confronted the second one, which was now mere feet from away from her. Just barely within range, she extended her arm and body further than she dared as she reached past the beast's jaws with her weapon and pierced its heart. When she withdrew, one of the creature's claws scraped against her arm, and she almost let go of the precious weapon as she retracted. She held her arm tightly for a moment, and looked about for the last flyer. It wasn't long before she saw it, but there was something about her last opponent that surprised her. It was fleeing.

Her blood boiled and her teeth clenched. "_Come on!_" She screamed at the top of her lungs, neither pursuing, nor evading the morph, "_That's it!? Is that it!? Come on! Let me kill you! Come on!_" Her furious yells were in vain, she knew this, but it was by far one of the most agonizing moments she had ever experienced on the battlefield. For a moment, all she could hear beyond the flapping of the wings on either side of her was the sound of her heavy breathing. She watched the creature fly off, farther and farther. He eyes felt heavy and they closed for a moment. Then they snapped back open as she looked down to see the blood that was all around her. She felt a bit dizzy, but shook it off as best as she could before reapplying the pressure to the wound on her back, and beginning a descent to the ground. "Priscilla!" She cried as loud as she was able on her approach to the healer who was riding alongside Kent, "Priscilla!" Her voice wasn't nearly as strong as it should have been, and she figured it was only by luck that Priscilla happened to turn and see her.

"Kent, hold up for a moment!" Priscilla said just before pulling on her reins and veering around and back towards Fiora, a psychic staff held forward.

"What are you doing?" Kent asked as he followed her. "We're supposed to keep going to clear a path for... oh, whatever... Fiora!" He called, "How bad is it?" She gave no response as they got closer, and he looked around him for any sign of a threat.

"Fiora!" Priscilla suddenly yelled as Kent jerked to attention, "What happened to you?" Fiora gave no response as her pegasus touched down and stumbled towards them a bit clumsily. Once they got a little closer, it was very obvious to both of the red-heads that Fiora was covered in a good deal of blood. At the sight, Kent jumped to the ground, pulled twice on his horse's reins, and sprinted for her as his mount followed behind him. He arrived very shortly after Priscilla did, and rushed beside the great winged steed before him. Fiora was wobbling a bit, her left arm pressing into her back, and her right hanging limp and bloodied in front of her with a light hold on the reins. He pushed aside the wing of the mount and outstretched his arms to her. She looked down with a slightly dazed expression at her arm as it was coated in blue light, wincing at the pain from the rapid healing, but soon it was in fine condition. Then she looked at Kent, and slowly lowered herself towards him. But suddenly, she simply let go and fell into his arms.

"His wing..." She grunted, clutching her back.

As Kent laid her on the ground, Priscilla came running towards them on foot, her stallion in tow, and looked over Fiora's body. "It's alright, Fiora..." she whispered in a gentle voice as she pulled a particularly ornate staff from her saddle, "I've fixed him up already, but now we need to fix _you_. I need you to... Kent? Can you roll her over on her chest for me?"

"Yes!" He said, quickly grasping he by the shoulders and trying to move her, but Fiora responded to the touch with a large shrug and placed her palms on the ground.

"I'm... not dead yet." Fiora breathed raggedly with a slight smile as she turned herself over.

"I know..." Kent said.

She gave a small chuckle and said, "How's it look?"

"Well..." Priscilla massaged her forehead for a moment before she said, "Kent, put some pressure on that, I've got to think for a moment..."

"Well hurry." He said as he followed her instructions. There was a small part of him that felt very displeased seeing Fiora put through so much pain for so long without any treatment, but he kept himself well under control while Priscilla simply thought while glancing about for any threats. He knew it was for the greater good, but he knew he was going to have to say something if this took too long. For a moment, he caught Fiora's eye and gave a smile. She smiled back too, but only briefly before her eyes closed to rest herself.

"Alright," Priscilla suddenly said, "Fiora, you've lost too much blood. I can fix you, but I'm going to have to do this fast, it's probably going to leave a bad scar, and it'll hurt a good deal."

"What?" Kent asked.

"Alright." Fiora said somberly. She had been expecting some bad news.

"Wait..." Kent said, "How long is this going to take? I mean... if you're going to run a risky procedure here, then how long are we supposed to hope our enemies don't bear down on us like rain on rocks?"

"This is _not_ a risky operation, Kent." Priscilla reassured, "In fact I've done this to you _twice_ before, and you would have died if I hadn't." He didn't even attempt to argue against that. "In fact," She continued, "I need you to keep watch while I'm busy here."

"Of course." He said without hesitation, removing his hands and wiping them off as best as he could in the lush grass as Priscilla took his place at Fiora's side. He had mounted his horse when he saw an illumination all around him coming from in back of him. He turned to see what it was, but quickly turned back when the light stabbed his eyes. _She did _that_ to me _twice Was all he could think.

Kent saw the light dim slightly, but he kept his eyes focused outward, and his ears trying to pick up anything other than the exotic incantations being whispered by the valkyrie behind him. He noticed the light around him fade down a bit, but it seemed to remain constant at a set brightness that he had a feeling may very well be giving away their position, even if it was broad daylight. "Do you see anything Kent?" Fiora asked through a shaky voice.

"Nothing immediately threatening." He replied, "There's what looks to be a druid in the distance, accompanied by an axe-man... but even if they see us now, it may take them a while to get here. The skies are also clear... thanks to you, I presume?"

"One of them got away..." Fiora said with a little bite to her words, and not just because of the pain, "It's still out there... it wasn't the one that gave me-" She winced and was silent for a moment, "...this injury... though I couldn't despise it any more if it had."

"You did a good job though." He said, "Priscilla and I would have had a hard time on the ground if you hadn't gotten rid of them."

"I've been doing this my whole life." She modestly replied, "I guess that-"

"Done." Priscilla said, standing up and tracing her fingers over the new skin of Fiora's back. "This is one of the few times my work has left a footprint, but that new blood in your body should serve you well. Are you alright?"

"Yes..." Fiora said as she staggered to her feet and cracked her back. "Come on." She said, pulling herself up onto her mount. "The others will be along soon and we need to clear the way for them."

"Take it easy." Priscilla called as Fiora took off in another direction. "Now, I heard you mentioning something about hostilities?"

"Straight ahead." Kent stated simply as he took off for the large packing of trees ahead with her following close behind. "I'll take the berserker, you take the druid." Kent said, looking to her for consent.

"Agreed." Priscilla replied as she rode for the dark magic user. The two opposing units were approaching them together, making no indication of splitting apart. Priscilla was preparing herself for an attack from the berserker, as it seemed to be veering more towards her than Kent, but just as it got within range of her magic, the morph jumped and turned its path toward Kent; but not before throwing a tomahawk at her. She easily dodged it and when it came back around to try to hit her a second time, she set it aflame and there was nothing left save for a speck of ash that barely grazed past her cheek. Turning her attention to the druid, she saw a dark mass come forward and before she could bat an eye, it had and completely encircled her body. _That was just a distraction!_ she realized as the darkness hit her full on and knocked her off her horse. She struggled on the ground flailing in pain as the magic flux slowly began to crush her. She was a good deal less than calm and collected at this moment. The mass was wrapping itself around her, but her constant movement resulted in some parts of her body receiving more pain than others. Dozens of minor scrapes and bruises soon appeared asymmetrically across her flesh. She struggled against the mass-less cloud, but it shook her and started tweaking her neck at odd angles, harder and harder. She stopped all movement for a full second, just long enough to put her thoughts in order. She had had enough. She yelled her incantations and the dark flux blasted back. She summoned a quick wind to blow away the vapor of what remained of the nullified spell. She floated off her back and on to her feet, and her hair and clothes began regarding the laws of gravity as optional. She sprinted for her enemy, covering 10 feet with each stride as she began conjuring up a tiny ball of shining energy around her right hand. The druid created a bottomless black vortex right where her foot would land, but she stepped on it as though it were solid ground and continued all the faster. Her enemy now within range, Priscilla pointed her left hand at the morph and pulled its body right in front of her. She raised it up and unleashed the magic stored in her other hand, causing the ball to flip inside-out and shoot forth a thick column of flame at her opponent, knocking it backward into the sky. She unleashed her lightning upon the lifeless body in the sky, and shattered it to nothing.

Priscilla's feet touched the ground, and she took in a deep intake of air as she let her body relax. _I have to learn to control myself._ She thought, _I can't keep doing that; it wastes Quintessence._ She took this time to examine the few places in which she was bleeding. A bruised thigh here, numerous minor cuts along her elbow there, nothing worth falling down and dying over. Her stallion had since trotted over to her and she climbed onto its saddle, reserving whatever magic she might have left for later. She looked over to Kent who was riding on his horse, looking exhausted through the blood splattered on him. Upon noticing that he had a nasty gash on his arm, not to mention what appeared to be a broken thumb and forefinger, Priscilla raised her staff to heal him. "How did you fare Kent?" She asked before starting her incantations.

"To give you the short version..." He replied, breathing heavily as he tried to wipe some of the sweat and blood off his face, even though he knew it didn't do much good, "I'm glad I've practiced with a sword for so long... I would be in pieces otherwise." Priscilla looked past him at the lifeless corpse of the morph; its leg hacked off, and its gut looking none the better. "How should we approach this forrest?" He asked her, turning to the trees before them.

"Given our location, I'd prefer to just burn the whole thing down... But I don't want to exhaust myself, and a small fire will take too long to and spread." She replied, "Perhaps Fiora can tell us what's waiting for us." She then pointed up to Fiora, who was circling above their current position from high up.

"Good idea." Kent said as he loudly called to Fiora and began to swing his lance in a wide circle over and over again. Fiora held her lance up and made a very distinct, single horizontal slice with it. "She can't see anything. I suppose that the coast is clear, but we should still be cautious."

"Indeed." She answered. They kicked into the sides of their horses and both ducked their heads to avoid some low hanging branches. Traveling was difficult, for there was no path to follow, nor many clearings, and the foliage was both completely untamed and incredibly lush. After about 2 minutes of travel without getting a face full of spider's webbing, it became apparent to both of them that save for the trees and other plants, they were the only living creatures here. It was a thought that sent a shiver down both their spines. Before too long, they came to a low, wooden bridge stretched over a small, quick river. The bridge looked like it could have been built just yesterday, and on the other side was a large clearing.

Once they were a few feet away from the trees, Priscilla turned around and with a flick of her wrist, sent three fireballs into the branches. In a matter of moments, smoke began to rise from above the canopy. "For good measure..." She explained, "and so the others have a quicker path." Kent only nodded in response as they both rode away from the bridge. From out of nowhere, a general and four knights appeared. "I can handle these!" Priscilla cried as she made a charge for them, and Kent followed her. But a large arrow passed between them and they hastily reconsidered their course of action. It was soon followed by another from a completely different direction, and they halted completely. Another large arrow came at them and Kent barely leaned out of its way. "_Ballistas!_" Priscilla yelled as another shot past her and hit a tree that shattered at the impact, "They must be everywhere! Find them!"

Impressed with the way Priscilla handled the situation, but not letting it stay his horse's hooves, Kent rode off in the direction of the first arrow as he dodged another that came from a different direction. He swerved around the few trees that dotted the plain, and soon caught sight of his large wooden target. He charged for it, readying a spear as he saw the contraption move about, turning a bolt in his direction as he approached it in a zigzagging pattern. Though he had always considered a ballista bolt at this range to be instantly lethal, he had his shield out in front of him just in case. He got closer and closer, every turn he made moving him just a little more within range until he finally let fly with his weapon. At the exact same moment, so did his enemy.

There was no time to get out of the way. All he could do was watch as the massive arrow punch clean through his outstretched shield. Through instincts that he never knew he had developed from fighting on the battlefield so long, his muscles hardened as he felt the arrow pierce his shield. The great wooden shaft hit him right in his ribs, snapping three of them instantly, and although his mail, armor, and bones protected what lay beneath them well enough, he was still knocked spinning off his horse; lying defenseless on his back.

He turned his head to look to his foe, and found that his flung spear had lodged itself in the great contraption, making it impossible for one of the pieces to move into place properly. He tried to get up but yelled in agony as he felt the impossibly strong pain from his broken ribs and he fell back down. Meanwhile, his opponent had left its seat at the great contraption, and was notching an arrow as it glared at at him. Suddenly, a javelin landed at the morph's feet and it barely ducked as Fiora swooped at it, her silver edged lance just grazing its neck. The morph turned and loosed its arrow at her from behind. But its aim was not very keen, for even a morph cannot achieve good accuracy with a sword through the heart.

Kent lay screaming in pain, the throw of his sword had been too large of a demand for his body and he was now bearing consequence of such an action. It felt as though something within his stomach _and_ his chest had been ripped apart. Badly. He called Priscilla's name as loudly as he could, even as he looked across the field to see the burning frames of a few ballista. Before he knew it, yet also before he stopped yelling in pain, he saw Priscilla kneeling over him, speaking long, rhythmic incantations, that worked as though she were singing his wounds back to health. "I'm beginning to wonder how you and Fiora survived without me..." She said between incantations, "You shouldn't exert so much force Kent!"

"I... had to... save Fiora." He said in ragged breaths; she was healing him, and healing him well, but some of the pain was still there. She worked on his wound for a while, as Fiora kept the armored morphs away using death and distraction as her greatest weapons. His wounds healed, Priscilla fetched his sword (that she lifted with noticeable difficulty) and handed it to him.

"That was impressive what you did." She remarked as she helped him up from the ground, "I can't imagine how painful that must have been for you."

"I didn't have any choice..." He said, traces of the pain still pulsing in his side, "She could have... been killed..." He crawled up onto the saddle of his horse, and Priscilla did the same, only a bit clumsily for she was conserving the rest of her magic for later. "Fiora! How do you fare!?" Kent yelled to the diving woman in the distance.

"You're free to join in at any time!" She called back as she swooped down and stabbed another knight.

Kent and Priscilla responded by galloping to her position, but as they did so, Priscilla glanced over to Kent and found his gaze to be fixed on Fiora. The evidence she had been secretly collecting ever since yesterday was too much for her; she had to say something. "Fiora is... special to you... isn't she?" She asked in as gentle a voice as she could. This only made him look away from her slightly, in embarrassment more than anything else.

_Why must she have me address this _now_! Evil little... Oh, what does it _matter

"Priscilla..." He replied in a very straight forward tone, "I tell you now that things are not in black and white... but though Fiora and I hide it, we-"

"It's alright Kent." She said in an almost all-knowing voice, "I think I understand... I know what it's like." He looked over to her surprised by these words, but his concentration was quickly gripped by the knights in front of them that were now in range of an attack. Priscilla unleashed blast after blast of fire and lightening that disintegrates a few of the morphs instantly, and parts of others. Kent's eyebrows raised. He had heard Priscilla was very efficient with these kinds of warriors, but he had never bore witness to any user of magic single handedly incapacitating nearly a dozen morphs. "Come along!" She said, "This is our destination. We should scout out some of the ruins first... see if it's any different than when we were last here." She ended the statement with a little grin, and he followed her lead.

They passed between the crumbling walls of what might have once been a great cathedral, and rushed along the short grass as quick as they could, searching for an opponent all the while, but using their speed as an ever-persistent defense against an attack. Not much had changed about the layout of the ruins since they had last been there. Kent even recognized a pile of rubble where a wall that Oswin had knocked down had once stood. There was still no roof above them, and they could both see Fiora occasionally swoop by overhead. It wasn't exactly the most thorough of inspections, but eventually Kent pulled back on his reins to give his horse a rest and said, "Priscilla... I think that's about it. We've been over every hallway at least twice. I doubt there's any chance that we'll be snuck up on from behind. In fact, we may be able to even camp here, time permitting."

"You're probably right..." She replied, giving the fair creature she rode a rest as well. She looked about her and said, "But I can't help but think that we've forgot... Oh!" She snapped her fingers, "What about the entrance to the Dragon's Gate? We rode past that a few times... but is there a chance that..." As Fiora's shadow passed over them, she looked up. Her eyes widened.

Kent turned his gaze skyward as well. Just as something white hot blasted past his face, he yelled, "_Fiora!_"

Careening through the sky with ease, Fiora simply went about scanning the ground for any sign of a morph. She looked off to her left side, and saw nothing other than stone walls, her comrades, and a thick patch of wild foliage so thick she couldn't see the ground beneath it. She checked her right, and was knocked from her perch in the skies.

The sole surviving wyvern rider from earlier had taken her by surprise, and the winged beast was now thrashing at her with its claws and jaws, snatching her by the leg, and removing her from the back of her mount. Its claws dug into her flesh as it readied its other hand for a swipe at her as she dangled upside-down. She drew her killing edge in defense and slashed the palm, but not without getting her forearm cut. The beast recoiled instinctively in pain, but quickly countered as it thrust its head forward and bit into her.

She could only scream.

Her entire left arm as well as a large part of her torso was clamped in the beast's jaws, the teeth puncturing straight through her. It was by blind luck that her heart remained untouched, but she didn't even have the presence of mind to assess how badly she was hurt. All she could feel was the pain. The flaming, tearing, infinite pain. She changed. Deep down inside, in spite of anything that had ever happened in her life, she was a living creature, and her existence was being severely threatened. Her entire body underwent a transformation into an entity that desired only to be free of such a life-threatening scenario, and any thought other than being freed was deemed useless. Adrenaline charged through and spilled out of her bleeding veins, and all she knew was that to prevent her own death she had to kill the terrible creature that was ruthlessly attacking her. Using her free arm, and her weapon in it, she made crude hacks at the beast with the sword in her blood-drenched hand, and she chopped and chopped away at it, yelling and screaming incoherently all the while. She wasn't calling anyone's name; she had forgotten even her own.

One of her attacks sliced the eye of the beast, and another hewed away the ear, but everything else deflected of the creature's scaly skin, and it loosened up its grip only slightly. Still she swung and swung her weapon with all the might that she could possibly provide, but she was still being held literally in the jaws of death. Suddenly, she hit a branch. Then another, and another, and another, until finally the beast got hung up in the tangle of the canopy, and its jaws let go of her. She fell the rest of the distance down to the ground in a barely conscious state. She tumbled downward, downward, downward. Her head bashed against one branch and her leg cracked against another. Her eyes closed halfway, her mind was overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, and all of the dozens of cuts and punctures across her body bled freely as she fell.

_Is this...?_

_This is it._

_I won't survive this..._

_I remember... The last time I saw my mother... She was so heartbroken when she told me she had to leave... She told me to look after my sisters no matter what... I was so young... She told me that she was going to finally avenge the death of our father... I never even knew him, did I? I never saw her again either..._

_I'm going to die..._

_I remember... The way my body washed up on the shore of this island so long ago... The blood was everywhere... my blood and theirs... I was the only survivor... I buried them... I was alone in the cold fog... filthy, half alive, and alone in the cold world... I had no one to go to... Not even my sisters could help me then..._

_Please, be merciful... If this is to be my death, then make it quick!_

_How did it come to this? What was I going to do with my life? Had I always planed on dying like this?_

_I remember... I remember... him._

_That night... did he really love me? Will he mourn for me? Will he even... remember me?_

_He touched me... Deep down inside, he touched me... I'll never forget the way he held me... the look in his eyes when he told me how he felt... the rush of joy in my soul at that first kiss... the hot touch of his flesh against mine... the affection he showed me... the happiness he gave me. I'll never forget our friendship... his smile... his voice... his eyes... I'll never forget the dreams I had of him... of us... never..._

_Here it comes. Please, let it be painless..._

_I forgive you Kent..._

_If only... no... it will die with me... a part of you will die with me..._

_Kent, I..._

_Kent..._

_KENT!_

A tear fell from one of her blood-shot eyes, and she watched it float up in the air. She could almost see her reflection in it. She reached to touch it. When the force of the fall broke her neck, she didn't feel a thing.

FIN!

Cliffhanger. Usually, I'm kind of excited about cliffhangers, but killing off one of your main characters is bound to take a bite out of you. Next chapter up in a while.


	7. Crisis

ONWARD!

Sword in hand, Kent thrashed his way through the brush. His armor was good enough to protect him from glancing blows on the battlefield, but it was ineffective at protecting his body from the persistent scratching and pricking of the thorns that surrounded him. But he couldn't stop. He wasn't going to stop just because this was hurting. He covered his face with one arm and swung his blade about with the other. He could barely see with the faint sunlight penetrating the dense canopy, but he kept going.

_Fiora._ He had thrown his javelin at the wyvern and Priscilla had guided it. He thought this was where they would fall, but they had been up so high... If he were thinking clearly, he would have known her chance of survival was low. But her screams were all that consumed his thoughts.

He pressed on through the thick brush, paying no heed to the thorns that tore at him. His foot caught on a root and he fell forward with only enough time to cover his face. With a groan of pain, he looked up. Suddenly, he saw a figure breaking through the canopy above, letting sunlight stream in with it. The figure landed with a hard crash on a pile of rubble and rocks in front of him. Kent scrambled to his feet and crawled up the slope, stumbling twice on loose bits of stone, but filled with hope.

That hope vanished when he reached the top. There was only a body. A twisted, bleeding body. _Her_ body. Kent ripped open the pouch at his side and fell to his knees, digging around for the elixir. He pulled it out, yanking loose the cork and casting the latter aside. He opened her mouthand tilted the bottle against her lips, but his hands were shaking, and some of the liquid splashed on the rocks. His heart beat madly, his breathing rapid, and he tried desperately to regain control. When the last drop had been poured, he pulled her up into his arms and held her filthy, cold body to himself. The first thing he noticed about her was her heartbeat. It was faint and irregular, but it lifted his spirits. He let out a deep breath, and a smile pulled at his lips. Then, her heartbeat abruptly stopped. He tried to calm down, told himself she would be all right, but all he could think of were the three large cracks he could feel in her skull. _It's all right... she'll be all right... Mark said the elixir could cure anything! He said it could do everything short of bring life back to the dead!_

Tears welled up in his eyes as he checked over her. Her neck was snapped as though it had been a twig, there were deep, bloody punctures running through her chest and stomach, and the rest of her body was torn apart. A tear streaked out the corner of one of her pale eyes, while a streak of blood was running out the corner of the other. He tried to ignore the look of her; tried to convince himself that she was still alive, but much to his despair, his instincts pointed him to a much more somber conclusion. _She's gone. She's... NO! NO SHE'S NOT! She's alive! She's alive! I... I..._ _I was too late. _He pulled her to him once more. There was no heartbeat, no breath. Everything was silent for so long. Realization finally set in, and with it a cry of desolation that exploded from withinhis soul. _She's gone... Fiora's... gone!_

He looked at her face and parted her hair, but all he saw was a pair of dilated eyes staring blankly at him. The same eyes that had given him hope; the same eyes that had looked at him with passion and affection; the same eyes he would have died to see one minute longer. He closed her eyes and ran his fingers over the cold smoothness of her cheek, trying to remember her as the beautiful woman she had been. _You were everything to me, Fiora. _He tried to remember her smile, her touch, her voice, but all he could see was her lifeless face. _I..._ His face twisted in pain as he shed some more tears. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead; a meaningless gesture he knew she would never notice.

Something high above him snapped and a drop of liquid fell on the back of his neck. Overhead was the carcass of the wyvern Kent had slain, his javelin still sticking out of its chest. One of the branches beneath it had just broken under the weight. A second branch followed. Then a third. A fourth. A fifth. It was going to crush him.

He did not move as the body fell towards him, only closed his eyes and welcomed death. But just before the carcass hit, he felt his body fly off to the side. The impact from the wyvern sent loose stones in every direction and sparked a small avalanche in the rubble. Kent was sent hurdling down the slope, trampling much of the foliage in his way, before landing in a painful heap.

He was still alive. He knew he should have been dead, but aside from a few new bruises and cuts, he was fine. But Fiora was dead. He had failed her, and now, he had even failed at his own escape into death. His eyes closed as he let out a low wail. _You're pathetic. Things go badly, and you just want to die? If you're so eager die, then at least die like a solider! You were a solider your whole life, so die like one! Finally make that trip to hell you always had coming to you. The hell you _deserve_! For all the lives you've taken... all the blood you've spilt... and for the woman who you never even once-_

"Kent... are you all right?" His eyes snapped open. There she was, leaning over him. Alive.

"_Fiora!_" Her arms wrapped around him and he pressed his lips against hers. She let out a deep sigh as she kissed him back. Her hands squeezed the back of his neck almost painfully, but he didn't care. She was alive, so beautiful, so warm, and more vibrant than he could ever remember.

"How...?" he asked quickly before kissing her once more. "Fiora, how...? I thought--"

"I-- I don't know! I felt myself dying... I could feel myself fall over the edge of a cliff. It was black. There-- there was nothing... I... I... Kent..." She trailed off as she leaned in and pressed her lips on his again. More tears poured from his eyes, but now they fell not from sorrow but from joy. _How could this be? Am I dead? Are you really here? What does it matter? Fiora..._

He stopped worrying and relished only this moment, holding her as closely as she held him, not even questioning the kiss they were sharing. A sudden scream in the distance cut their reunion short. "Priscilla." Kent breathed, his eyes widening.

"Can you walk?" Fiora hopped to her feet and lent him a hand.

"Yes." He said, still dazed. She ran to his nearby horse, grabbed the reins and lead the mount back to him, loudly clicking her tongue all the while. "But, what about you? Fiora, what's happened?"

She released the reins and embraced him once again. "Kent, there's so many things I want to say to you right now, but we haven't got the time." Fiora's mount landed nearby, and nudged its owner with its nose, "We have to go, now." When another scream rang in their ears, they broke apart. By the time Kent swung himself onto the back of his horse, Fiora's pegasus was already preparing to taking off into the skies.

Priscilla was locked in a vicious magical struggle with an individual who had as much command over the elements as she had. Her opponent, an exceptionally attractive female Morph, had been battling with her ever since she had diverted it's attention away from Kent when he had gone to help Fiora. Priscilla had never before poured so much concentration into a single opponent, and every passing second fueled the thought that this fight may not end like all the others. The beam of lightning and pure energyPriscilla had cast was pushing against the spell of her opponent, and she was sweating with the effort to keep her attack strong. Her hands tightened around the reins of her stationary mount, and a vein in her forehead was throbbing as though it were about to burst. The point where their spells converged, fighting like dozens of whips of every color, swayed between them, but Priscilla could tell that it was slowly inching towards her. But she was almost exhausted, and trapped in this fight with no way out. _Think of something Priscilla. _Think_ of something! _she thought. _A final blast... that might do it. Use up everything I have now in one focused shot and destroy this morph. That might do it if I concentrate enough... I'll barely be able to breath after this. I'll be completely vulnerable unless the others find me first... But I can make it through this! I can!_

She changed her incantation and her beam of energydied down to nothing. She yelled another incantation and pointed a finger at her opponent, her arm wavering with exhaustion, all the breath yanked out of her. Her hand clutched for her heartand she started gasping for breath. Desperate, Priscilla screamed her incantations one more time,but the energy of her opponent was already upon her, lifting her and her mare from the ground.

Unlike the randomly placed dark magic from before, this was uniform, like rings of steel binding her. She had always been remarkably resilient to magical attacks, but this was different from anything she had faced before. Her mare cried out in pain and fright moments before its neck was twisted, and its silent body fell to the ground below. Priscilla suddenly felt the pressure on her body increase, and she couldn't help but scream as her arms locked in an eagle-spread position, pushed back so hard that her forearms snapped, followed quickly by her shoulder blades. Her body was flung to the side and smashed against a tree, banging her head against the wood. Telekinetic forces twirled her body around like a dead leaf in the breeze then dragged her across the grass and the dirt. She was dragged along the ground until her side came into contact with a rock that sent her tumbling into the air with the momentum. But she was sent back in another direction, where her body was smashed against the side of one boulder, then another, before being flung into the air. She hovered for a moment, her back arching further and further until it broke**. ** When the hold on her was finally let go, she fell the forty foot drop to the earth. And did not move.

Limstella raised her perfect feminine face and tossed a few strands of her long black hair out of her vision. The Morph's brilliant, golden eyes shone out through her long, dark locks, and looked upon Priscilla's mangled body without mercy. She raised her hand to mutter the incantations for the final strike. But half-way through, the morph's attention was caught by a cry of rage, and she spun around just in time to block a blade aimed at her neck.

Guy forced his blade forward with every ounce of strength he had, using not just his sword but his entire body against the soulless being before him. He was filled with a hatred beyond words that burned in his eyes, and not even the taste of blood, either his opponent's or his own, could quench the rage in him. With teeth clenched, every muscle in his body pushed for the killing stroke. His palms squeezed the handle of his weapon so tightly they nearly bled, but he could no longer feel pain. Guy could feel forces pressing against him, and saw the magical energy encircle his blade, but he remained undaunted. He pressed harder, yelling his fury and frustration as the magic around his sword reached impossible levels. Finally Guy screamed as the blade of his sword fractured and burst into dozens of shards, sending shattered steel tearing through both their bodies.

He fell on top of her, grabbing her throat with bleeding fists as he bashed her head against the cobblestone ground. "_Everything_ from me_!_" He screamed, not caring whether his enemy was still alive as he struck the morph's face with his fist. "You took _everything_ from me!Die! _Die_!" He smashed her cracked skull against the bloody ground once more and he screamed to the heavens in pure hatred before devolving into tears

Weeping, he crawled on hands and knees to Priscilla's mangled body, a steel shard lodged near his heart. He looked painfully at what little remained of her smashed, bloodied face. He noticed a flicker of movement in one of her eyelids and he stroked the tangled mess of her hair. Her eye slowly opened and met with his briefly. Then, it looked all around, as if searching for something. Her voice whimpered, not in pain but in fear as she looked about. "W-... Where am I?..." Her voice was raspy and quiet. "I... I can't see...!" Guy quickly reached into the small pouch at his side, wincing at the pain in his arm. He felt around for the elixir, but all he could feel was a hole in his pouch. Then, he remembered Priscilla must have had one too, so he reached over to her side, and reached onto one of her pockets. But as he did so, his arm brushed against her face, and she slightly gasped at the touch. "Guy..." she breathed, her single eye searching around for him in, "Is that yo- my love...?"

"I'm here, Priscilla..." he finally whispered, even as his fingers wrapped around little more than a few broken shards of glass in her pocket. "I'm here..." Priscilla's lips moved as if to smile, but the corners of her mouth dropped and her lone pupil dilated.

Guy ignored the hoofbeats he heard hoofbeats approach,. He pressed his lips against hers as life finally left Priscilla's body. After that, all he could do was hold her tightly and weep into the crook of her neck, his tears falling to mix with the blood and dirt on the ground.

Fiora hit the ground running, and was next to Guy almost in the blink of an eye, an elixir in hand. The sight of Priscilla barely registered in her mind. All that she could see was Guy, surrounded by a pool of his own blood, and by her judgement, he had little more than a few seconds left. "Guy, take this quic-"

"No!" His voice was more of a snarl than anything else, and with it, he coughed violently, hacking up blood. He tried to gasp, but he seemed to choke on something and he fell silent. Then, he held steady for a moment, not moving a muscle until he slowly tilted his head up at her. His face stole the breath from her lungs. Blood streaked through his hair, blotched his eyes, and covered every inch of his face except for two lines down his cheeks where tears were still streaming. Slowly, he shook his head from side to side and his lips silently spoke a single word, "no..." He collapsed.

Fiora dropped to her knees, too overwhelmed to do anything, and barely acknowledged Kent's arrival soon after. His eyes widened with disbelief. He knew he should be watching out for morphs**,** but he could only smell the stench of death all around him.

Priscilla was dead. Fiora couldn't come to grips with that. The woman who had embraced her as a friend and saved her from death countless times was gone. Guy too. A master of the blade and a kind person, from what little Fiora knew of him. They were both dead. Ever since Fiora had joined this legion she had known there would be casualties, but this was unlike anything she had expected. She was flooded with memories, nightmares of the faces of fellow knights that had ridden beside her in the fog. Then the arrows had come. From every direction they came, piercing her comrades, their steeds, and herself. All she could think of was their faces, covered in dirt and sweat and blood. They were all dead. She felt such misery for a few she had barely known, but for the loss to be someone she _had_ known, was unbearable. She began to weep, her body shaking, and her eyes closed tightly, devoid of tears. She could feel a hand on her shoulder and shook it off.

Kent withdrew his hand, surprised, and thought better of trying to comfort her. But then he saw her shaking again, crying without tears, and he knelt beside her to wrap his arms around her shoulders. She leaned against him and he pulled her closer, the first few tears trickling out of his eyes. Agonizing minutes passed until Mark and the rest of the army arrived.

"We don't know where Guy is," Mark said as he reached them. "We'll have to go searching for...What's going on?" It took him a moment to see past Kent and Fiora's embrace to the two corpses near them. "Are they...? No! Don't tell me...! I..." He fell to his knees, his hands on his head and eyes wide with disbelief. The only sound that came from him for a few moments was a low whimpering, like that of a pained child.

"_Mark! Mark!_" Rath, their scout, rode to the head of the group. "We haven't got a lot of time, I just..." Silence overtook the man as he finally spotted Priscilla and Guy.

_"What!?"_ Mark suddenly rose to his feet, startling those around him, his face crimson with fury, "Spit it out, damn you! _What!_"

Rath quickly composed himself. "Sir, there's a group of pegasus headed this way. I'd figure at least thirty strong, if not more, coming from the west, and they're going to be raining spears down on us in the next few-" Mark let out a loud whistle that pierced everyone's ears.

"Fortify!" Mark's voice boomed, without hesitation. "What are you doing!?" He shouted when the others didn't immediately respond, "Haven't you seen a corpse before?! They're _dead_! Get over it! Because we're dead too in six seconds if you don't _do_ something about it! Fortify this location! _Now!_"People all around him were already scrambling about the ruins, some taking cover, others pointing out the flock of death headed their way, and those who could were manning the ballistas. "Go! Kill!" He screamed the words at them, "That's what you're all good at! That's what you're here for! Kill! Kill! Just kill!" By this point the man was beyond tears, breaking down and falling to his knees as his anguish consumed him, and javelins and spears rained down from the sky, some landing frighteningly close to him. Dart broke out of his hiding spot with his axe slung over his back, scooped Mark up on his broad shoulders, and sprinted the man to safety.

The rest of the day was full of bloodshed. The initial company of pegasus was dealt with quickly, but it was only the first attack. Wave after wave of morphs charged through the narrow tunnels and climbed the walls of the ruins to kill the only humans on the island. One by one the golden-eyed beings fell, but there were always more to replace those who had fallen. Some of the morphs were picked off from afar by archers. Other morphs were ambushed in narrow corridors by Pent or Erk, who would set fire to the grass at their feet. The rest were killed in the bottlenecks, where they met their end on a blade. But the battle took its toll. The defenders were all warriors, every one of them battle-hardened and filled with a desire for vengeance. But the body cannot rely on vengeance alone. Eventually some had to retreat and find a place to rest, only to be roused again by others also close to collapsing. Most people forgot about Priscilla and Guy in this fight for their lives, aware only of their exhaustion.

Morning changed to the blazing heat of noon. Then twilight came, and only hours after sundown was the last morph slain. Then, everyone fell to the earth, silent. Even those who hadn't suffered critical injuries were overwhelmed by muscles that burned from overuse and hearts that had been beating too fast for too long.

Serra, her usually pristine face marred by small scratches and coated with sweat, jogged from one body to the next, checking for anyone who was bleeding too badly. Most were fine, nurturing their cuts and gashes, some with their arms in slings, others who looked unable to stand. When she found nothing immediately life threatening, she traveled to another team and continued to help where she could.

"Serra..." The young bishop turned at the call of her name and hurried over to Fiora.

"What hurts?" she asked, "You look fine, is it something internal?"

Fiora couldn't help herself and let out a small chuckle as she wiped some of the dirt off her face with a bloodied hand, "Since when did you get so professional?"

Serra rolled her eyes. "When I realized I can't afford to chit-chat right now. So unless you need help, I must be off."

"No... I just wanted to know about the others. How are they? What of my sisters?"

"Florina's passed out somewhere, but she's fine. And Farina... I don't know. I haven't seen her yet. No one is dead so far as I can-- Oh no!"

"What?" Fiora propped herself up on her elbows and saw a lone figure with a sword slowly approaching them. "Oh, not another!" Fiora groaned as she picked up her sword, stuck it's blade in the ground, and pulled herself up on it. "Serra, can you...?"

"I'm almost tapped, Fiora. I need to save the rest for healing."

"No more..." Isadora moaned from her resting place on the stone floor, "I need to rest... please, not another...!"

"Lowen?"

The green-haired knight pulled himself to his feet. "I'll help," he replied through panting breaths. "But I can't hold out for very long."

"Me neither." Fiora rose to her feet, knees wobbling as she raised her sword. The figure before them dropped its sword and kept walking towards them slowly. "Wait, what's it doing?"

Serra hefted a torch. There stood Raven, standing tall and completely soaked in blood. His eyes were unfocused and the usual scowl on his face was absent. Had they not known him, he could have easily been mistaken for a morph, so dead and lifeless he seemed.

"Wait." Serra called after him. When he did not stop, the young woman side-stepped in front of him, her arms crossed, a torch in one hand and staff in the other. "Are you all right, or what? Are you hurt somewhere? What's wrong?" Raven barely glanced at her and simply walked around her. Serra was very put off by this and jumped in front of him, tossing the still-burning torch to the floor and placing her hands on her hips. "Now see here! I'm trying to help you, and on top of that, I think-" Before she could utter another breath, his hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her up.

Fiora and Lowen lunged at Raven and tried to pull him away from her. Before they could budge him, he flung Serra against a wall and she landed in a heap, Fiora and Lowen rushing to her side. Serra's eyes were already filling with tears and she shuddered, breathing heavily in terror. The shock and pain, not to mention the peculiarity of the situation, tumbled down on her like an avalanche.

"Why the hell did you _do_ that?!" Lowen yelled, outrage burning in his voice.

Raven's pace didn't falter as he walked deeper into the shadows of the ruins.

"Are you all right?" Fiora asked Serra.

"W-why?" The pink-haired cleric was almost delirious with fright.

"You'll be all right, Serra. You'll be alright." Lowen said. He looked up at Fiora . "I've no idea what's gotten into that crazy bastard, but Serra should be fine. He didn't throw her against the wall _too_ hard." Shaking her head, Fiora got to her feet and walked down the stone corridor, steadying herself against the wall. "Where are you going?" Lowen asked.

Fiora stopped to catch her breath and pick up her sword. "I'm going to find out what's gotten into him. And I'll send someone to aid you as soon as I can."

Fiora didn't know how she did it, but eventually she came to the clearing at the center of the ruins near the entrance to the Dragon's Gate. It was there that Guy and Priscilla were lying, the grass stained with their blood. And it was there that Raven was kneeling. The man was as motionless as a statue, staring at the corpse of Priscilla with little interest in Guy. He pulled the body out of Guy's dead embrace and laid her back on the grass.

Fiora's eyes widened at that. She wasn't a vassal of Elimine, but she knew the dignity that must be given to the dead. She stepped forward, only to be stopped by a hand at her shoulder. She whirled around and, much to her surprise, made out the face of Lucius.

"You mustn't disturb him," he said in a hushed voice.

"Call yourself a bishop, indeed." Fiora responded. "A holy man like you should know that only kin are-"

"Fiora-"

"No!" Fiora cut him off, raising her voice and jabbing a finger at Raven, "That man has just struck Serra without provocation, he is not Priscilla's kin, and he-"

"_He_..." Lucius whispered harshly, a dark light in his eyes, "was a brother!" Silence fell and Fiora turned to Raven as if seeing him for the first time. "And _he_..." Lucius continued, "has just lost everything that was precious to him. Please, you must let him be." Lucius snapped his fingers and light sparked from his fingertips as he walked toward Raven, who was now spreading Pricilla's arms and legs to form a star.

Fiora fell against a wall, and slid down the side of it, landing on the ground with her head in her hands. Lucius whispered a few words to an unresponsive Raven. Then Lucius turned towards the torch lights in the distance.

"Has anyone got any kindling?"

FIN!

Sorry that took so long! I'm truly embarrassed to have forced you to wait almost a year for this chapter, not to mention the fact that the last one ended in a cliffhanger. And in my notes at the end of that last chapter, yes, I was referring to Priscilla, not Fiora when I spoke of a 'main character'.

I'm expecting many reviews with something to the effect of "I waited all that time just for this?" in them, but I suppose I deserve every drop of that. (not to suggest that I didn't spend a lot of time on this chapter, that is) But I hope you've enjoyed this chapter nonetheless, and ANY reviews are always appreciated. Chapter 8, "Dream", will be posted in a few months (probably 2), and I hope that I really DO live up to that pledge this time. Next chapter will be longer too.

Many thanks to Kitsilver for beta-reading this chapter and pointing out so many flaws I originally had in it. Thanks, Kit.

SPECIAL NOTE: While writing this chapter, you were almost all completely in the dark as to what I was doing. This time, however, I will be updating my profile on a weekly basis (that is, Sunday of every week). The Weekly Update will contain information on how far along I am on the next chapter, and should prevent people from posting reviews just for the sake of asking me when the next chapter will come out. I hope this works out, and encourages me to work even harder on the next chapter.


	8. Dream

After everyone in the legion regrouped, and finally piled the corpses of the Morphs away, the slow process of deciding what to do next began. It didn't last long. There was a lust for vengeance on the tips of everyone's tongue, but there was also an ache in their bodies for rest, and the latter of these needs refused to surrender. Slowly, the exhausted warriors set up encampments scattered about the ruins. Once a camp had been established, any attempt to have a supper was forfeited on the grounds that no one had any appetite. That left them with only a single, somber task to complete that night.

Lighting fires was difficult for everyone. Starting any sort of fire was a basic skill than everyone in the legion possessed, but tonight, it seemed like an air of hesitation was gripping everyone with flint and steel in their hands. No one really took note of who was the first to get a flame going, but it was certainly well after both bodies had been prepared for their final fate. Guy was simply placed on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. Having died in battle, neither the blood nor the sweat nor the dirt on his face was cleaned away, and his wounds remained as horrifying as when they had first marred his skin. His face, however, was tilted in the direction of Sacae, to show in his afterlife which way the wind was to carry his soul. Lyn and Rath also paid their respects to their fellow countryman, and each of them whispered soft words to his body that were heard by no one else.

Priscilla, however, was laid out in the spread eagle position, her face raised to the stars, and her stallion was curled up on its side and laid beside her. Priscilla herself was personally blessed by everyone from Etruria, including Pent and his Louise, who whispered almost a small sermon to her, though they seemed to at times give Guy important glances as they spoke. Had it not been such a rushed funeral, the ceremony could have gone on until the break of dawn, as everyone held a special place somewhere in their heart for the woman who had healed them so many times. A place in their hearts that was now void.

No words were spoken. It seemed as though breaking the silence would hinder their ascent to the afterlife. All that the others could do was watch the flames slowly consume Guy and Priscilla's bodies. Some simply left the sight as soon as they could, either to hide their tears or to stop themselves from shedding any. The rest stayed, not just out of respect for the dead but respect for the magnificent individuals they had been. Some also stayed because they knew the importance of this. These were their first casualties in combat. The first crack they ever saw in their armor, and it now left a gaping wound that lead right to the heart of them. There wasn't a single person in the army who wasn't at least a little worried. Sleep would be hard to find this night.

Eventually, people left the smoldering fire with a slowness that matched the rising moon. As Matthew finally walked away with regret in his eyes, only Fiora, Raven and Lucius were left alone at the glowing embers. After a short while, Fiora whispered aloud with a bit of hesitancy, "We should probably get some sleep..."

Hearing this, Lucius said to Raven, "That sounds like a good idea, my friend."

"I'm not sleeping." Raven answered coldly.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, the Bishop whispered, "Raven, please-"

"I said that I will not be sleeping!" He replied a bit louder, turning to glare at the blonde-haired man with eyes that he usually reserved for the battlefield. But the fire in him quickly cooled, and he turned away, fixing his gaze back on the embers before him, "You can't imagine the pain I'm going through! I will find no sleep tonight. You have no idea what it's like to lose someone so important to you... to lose your sister... your only family..." He crouched down and stared at the blackened mound before him, "I'm keeping watch. I will find no sleep tonight."

Solemnly nodding, Lucius walked away from him in silence, giving only a passing glance to Fiora that was enough to tell her that he pitied her for witnessing Guy and Priscilla fall. Fiora took a last glance at Raven before she turned and walked to her tent in complete silence.

Fiora felt detached from the world. Her vision was blurred, and she didn't pay much attention to where she was going, for she didn't really care. It wasn't just from such a lack of sleep, or a lack of nourishment, or losing probably a quarter of all her natural blood earlier, or even from falling into the abyss of her own death only to be quickly pulled out. It was simply all of the stress that had happened in just one day of her life that was almost breaking her. She felt like a glass statue, slowly cracking and falling apart, able to only watch shards of herself shatter into dust on the stone floor. She was still relatively young, but it seemed to her in that moment that she was a hundred years old and her life was coming to an inevitable end.

She suddenly stopped walking and fell to her knees, breathing slowly and steadily. Her hand reached for the sword at her side, and her fingers pulled at the handle. Slowly, the cold steel blade showed more and more of itself before she finally had the tip raised an inch from her face. She looked at it as if expecting it to blink before she did. She inspected the finely honed edge, and the few notches that were sprinkled along the sides of it. _I've taken quite a few lives with this sword._ For some reason Fiora could not explain, her mind began to dwell on darker thoughts. She began to wonder, as she looked at the edge, how easily could she pierce it through her own heart? She wondered how quickly it would kill her. Would there be any pain? Did anyone she ever kill ever feel pain? Would her life truly flash before her eyes as some of it had earlier that day, if she were to impale herself? And if it did, would she see anything worth remembering? She slowly rose to her feet. With all the strength in her arm, she swung the weapon and hurled it against a rock wall, which it met with a loud clang before falling to the ground. She tore the belt for her scabbard off of her waist and threw it in the same direction. Then she was still. Panting gently in the cold, twilight air, wondering in the back of her mind if there was even a chance she would get any sleep tonight.

Fiora heard someone call her name. She turned ever so slightly to the side. "Fiora." It was Farina. "Hey there. Are... you all right?" Her sister raised an eyebrow at her, her eyes looking off to the sword Fiora had just thrown.

"No." Fiora breathed, wearing a rather emotionless face. Farina was quiet for a while, unsure of what to say to that. Suddenly, a lavender haired individual rushed out behind Farina and ran towards Fiora, wrapping a pair of arms around her. Fiora returned the hug, "Don't worry, Florina," She said as she stroked her youngest sister's full, bushy hair, "I'm going to be fine..."

The face of Florina turned up to look at her with tears welding up in her eyes. "Don't say that..." She said, "You always say that..."

Fiora's assuring features faltered for a moment, "Florina... there's nothing else that I can say..."

"Then don't talk..." Florina buried her face in her older sister's chest once more, "I know you're upset, Sis, I'm not three anymore. I don't know exactly how old any of us are, but I know I'm no longer a child. It seems like you never smile anymore... like you-"

"What Florina means," Farina said, as she took another step forward, "is we've been concerned about you, Fiora. Not just since we were all kids, but ever since you joined this army, it's seemed like there's been something eating away at you. We love you, Fiora, and we want to know if there's anything we can do to help you."

"No..." Fiora replied without any thought, "I'm all right... I just..." she gave a weak smile to them before letting out a sigh and continuing a bit more solemnly, "I guess it's just been hard for all of us. It's been hard for you two... it's been hard for Mark... it's been hard for Hector, for Oswin, for Serra, for Priscil-!" She stopped herself in mid sentence. Fiora swallowed deeply and took a short intake of air before continuing. "This whole thing has been hard on everyone. And it's been hard for me too... but I have to care about you two more than myself." She offered another smile, but again, it was weak, and neither of them bought it.

Florina backed away a bit and looked at Fiora with an uncertain gaze in her eyes. "Fiora," Farina said, "is it that guy...?"

"Who?"

"You know damn well who!" Farina snapped. Farina wasn't mad, but she did have a reputation for a somewhat short temper and a tendency to curse a lot, "That guy you always spend your time with... who you isolate yourself away from everybody else with... come on, Fiora. What did he do?"

Florina suddenly turned to Farina and spoke, "Why do you blame _him_?"

Farina looked at her younger sister with a bit of disdain in her eyes, "What do _you_ know about it?"

"I spent a good deal of time with him before either of you met him." Both of the other sisters were surprised at how assertively their youngest sibling was suddenly talking, "That is, I didn't know him _too_ well," Her usually timid blush returned to her face, "but from what little I did know of him, he wasn't all that bad of a person... And I don't-"

"Whatever," Farina said, shrugging and waving her hand at the comment, "I just want to know, Fiora, did he do anything?"

Fiora could only stare at Farina with the faintest bit of shock in her eyes, "Why do you think-"

"I don't know. All I know is you've spent more time with that man than you have with us in almost a year. So if you're in pain, I'd expect he has something to do with it. So what did he do, Fiora?"

Fiora stared at her sister, still half shocked and half insulted at her words. She opened her mouth to say something, but before anything could be said, Florina interrupted, "Oh, stop it! Please don't do this again!" Florina's eyes were on the brink of tears, "Why do you have to argue? Why do you two _always_ have to argue? Farina, the last time you two argued, you left and never came back, and then Fiora got sick and I was the only... I never..." She was unable to continue, concentrating more on fighting back the tears in her eyes.

The words she cried out echoed off of the three of them for what felt like hours, but Farina soon stepped forward and embraced her younger sister. "O.K... O.K... I'll stop... we'll both stop..."

"Don't argue..." Florina's muffled voice came from Farina's shoulder, "Please... don't argue..."

"We won't..." Fiora stepped forward and wrapped her arms around both of them, and it wasn't long before she felt Farina wiggle an arm around her shoulders as well. The three sisters just stood there for a while, half afraid to talk, half relieved that everything had calmed down. Soon enough, a cheery smile returned to its rightful place on Florina's lips, and she too, embraced her sisters, and they shared a presence they knew they could only have with one another. It was the presence of family. And for a fleeting moment, that was all the comfort they needed.

Before long, though, a few droplets of water started to fall on them. Still they held on to each other. Then the rain started to pour down a little heavier, and they started to break apart a bit. "Alright..." Fiora said, "We'd best not stay out here too long or we'll get soaked. But thanks for meeting me... It means a lot to know that you care." Farina gave a humble shrug, her typical response to such a statement. Fiora gave a brief chuckle and said, "Goodnight, Farina."

Farina gave Fiora a nod and a pat on the shoulder. "See you in the morning." Farina said as she began to walk away.

"Yeah." Fiora replied, somewhat solemnly. She turned to her youngest sister and pulled her into another tight hug. She stroked her hair a bit as she planted a little kiss on her forehead, at which Florina squirmed a bit uncomfortably.

"Sis..." She said, somewhat playfully wiggling out of her arms, "I'm not a little girl anymore."

At this comment, Fiora gave a small chuckle, "Of course you're not." She patted her gently on the head, "Good night, Florina." Her youngest sister gave a last, sweet smile before she trotted off as well, leaving Fiora alone in the rain. _Wow..._ she thought, _I don't think those two will ever change._ She smiled to herself as she began to walk towards her tent. _I hope they never do._

Fiora just walked, not paying much heed to the rain. It fell upon the top of her head, and ran down into her hair, dripping out onto her shoulders, and soaking into her clothes. She didn't mind. In fact, if anything, it felt nice to feel some of the dirt and the grime and the blood filtering off of her body. After a while, she untied the string that bound back her hair and shook out her head, droplets of water flying in every direction in addition to the rain that fell all around her. She cleared the hair from her vision, again wondering why she didn't just cut her mane short so it wouldn't get in the way. Once it was parted back, she ran a hand over her wet face. She looked at her palm, and saw only the brown of mud and the red of blood. It was a sight she had seen so often that she barely gave any more thought to why she had gotten dirty, or how that blood had left the body of something or someone who had been alive. She just wiped it off on the side of one of her long leather boots, and kept on walking, occasionally cleaning out the corners of her eyes, ears, and around her nose.

When she was finally satisfied with the amount of grime cleared from her face, she pulled her hair back once more and laced the string back behind her ears to hold her hair in place. But like it always did, her cowlick sprang its way free after only a few steps, and she could feel the familiar bounce from the two tufts of her hair that had always sprouted from her forehead. She rolled her eyes, _Well... I guess my sisters always did like my hair like this._ She smiled to herself as the rain intensified around her and she picked up a bit more speed. _Yes... now I remember. That's why I don't cut it. Because if I don't want them to change, I can't change either._ Finally, she spotted the tent, located on a cobblestone floor under a small overhang of ruins, and approached it.

When Fiora walked into her tent, she had her eyes to the ground. The sound of the rain behind her seemed disturbing, so she tied the flaps together to block out the noise, as though it would put her mind at peace. It didn't. She suddenly regretted setting up little more than the exterior of the tent, but in a rare moment of laziness, she shrugged the thought off. _We've got all our things in here, it'll be O.K. Besides... at least my cot is already made out, and we're not staying long. I'll get around to the other things but not now... not now..._ She removed her boots, and tossed them into a corner without a second thought put into it. She heard a grunt of discomfort as they hit something. "Oh! I'm sorry, Kent!" She quickly said as she walked over to him. He didn't say a word. He was sitting in the corner, staring at the floor, and his only movements were his breathing. He slowly turned his head in her direction, a blank expression on his face. Fiora took a step back.

Kent rose to his feet, neither swiftly nor hesitantly, and stepped towards her. "Fiora." He whispered the name, letting it out like a deep breath, and stopped when he was directly in front of her. A mix of weariness and compassion was in his eyes, and she didn't move under its gaze, even when his hands reached up and cradled her face on either side. His face advanced towards hers. With a jolt of panic, Fiora landed a palm on his chest and shoved him away. She stared at him in shock, both offended and startled with his sudden advance, and her feet instinctively sought out a firmer stance on the stone floor.

"Kent," she asked, "What are you doing?"

His arms fell uselessly at his sides as he let out a sigh and stared at the ground. "I don't know. I just... I thought that..." He looked back up at her, but his eyes were shifty and didn't stay with hers for long. "I thought that, after what happened today, we were..." He let out another sigh and again concentrated on his boots, "I'm sorry... I got caught up in the moment earlier. I shouldn't have done that then, or just now. Never mind."

"No. I- It's alright, I just..." She was thankful that he couldn't see the blush in her cheeks. She herself had gotten 'caught up in the moment' earlier today as well, but she wasn't about to put it quite like that. _ I was just happy to see him... happy to be alive. I would have died had it not been for him..._ "Kent, it's alright. I forgive you, but there's no need for you to be sorry."

"Fiora, I have every reason in the world to be sorry, and you know it." The suddenness of his words drew up a quick silence between them. He had been thinking those words, but in a moment of carelessness or perhaps just stupidity, he said them instead. But for some reason that he could not fathom, he did not feel a desire to retract his words. As the silence grew around them, he contemplated his position, and decided he had to advance this time, not back away, if only to see where it took him. "Fiora," He looked up and faced her, "there's something I need to tell you."

"Kent..." it was her turn to avoid his gaze.

"Please, just listen." He took a small step towards her, "Fiora, earlier today... I didn't know what I was holding on to when I chased after you. Even with the distance between us, it was obvious to me what was happening to you. I could see your blood. I could hear you scream. But I couldn't stop. I had to know what happened to you." He stopped for a moment as he swallowed hard, his voice close to faltering, "The... When I saw you, it nearly killed me. But something happened, Fiora. As I followed the trickle of your own blood to find you, I saw something amazing." He faltered again, catching his breath, her eyes focused on the ground even as he continued, "I saw, flashing before my eyes, every last moment I had spent with you. When I first met you. The first time you made me laugh. Even... heh..." He gave a light chuckle, "even the time we were separated from the rest of the group when we attacked the palace at Bern, and you and I had to survive on our own in the dark with only a single torch between the two of us. I remembered The Night. And then... then, after that, everything just stopped. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen you smile. I couldn't remember the last time I had kissed you. I couldn't remember the last time we had even spoken." Fiora's eyes were still on the ground, but she couldn't help but hang on to every word he said. She herself could remember everything he was talking about, even though they were thoughts she had not dwelt upon for a long time.

"Fiora." He gently whispered, and she turned up to look at him. He was much closer now, but she didn't mind it so much this time. "Fiora, what happened to you? After all we've been through together, why is it so hard for me to look at you? What happened to the long talks we used to have almost every night? What happened to our friendship?" Slowly, he moved forward, and his arms folded around her in a soft, yet warm embrace. "What happened," He asked as he closed his eyes that were filling with tears, resting his chin on her shoulder, "to the comfort I used to have whenever I was with you?" She felt him lean his head against hers, and she did nothing to prevent it. "I miss you, Fiora." He let out a deep sigh, "I miss you."

She felt her fingers twitch at her side. Slowly, her hand crept skyward. Inch by inch it moved, tracing up the cloth along his back, feeling the hundreds of tiny fibers against her fingers. With due time, her elbow bent, and her palm reached higher, and higher. Suddenly, it stopped, and rested. Her fingers folded together, and laid down as one between his shoulders. And she was almost startled to feel flesh there. But it was not his, it was her own. Her other hand was already there. She closed her eyes as both of her hands laid down on his back. She took in a breath, and forced everything out of her mind and just spoke the words she knew she wanted, _needed_, to say, "I miss you too, Kent."

For what felt like hours, they stood in each other's arms, the only sound being the soft pattering of rain on their tent. Fiora knew she was forcing herself. It was taking every ounce of her willpower to hold on to this man, and her muscles were tense with agitation. But deep down, there was a small slice of her soul that needed someone to hold, if only for comfort. But another part of her knew that that someone could be no one other than Kent. And the rest of her knew above all else that Kent was also the man she'd been so timid around, the man she'd tried to avoid without abandoning completely, and the man she had slept with. She felt him press the side of his face against her temple, but she did not recoil. Fiora may have been tired, but she was also feeling a little more at ease, perhaps, she thought, getting used to holding him. Soon, she wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck, and gently stroked him. He didn't even wince. Everything was suddenly so relaxing. She let out a small sigh, and his name rolled off the end of her tongue in a whisper.

The sound of her voice was impossible for him to ignore, and he moved his head back just enough to see her. Her eyes were a little shifty, and less than eager to meet his own. After a moment of reluctance, he reached a hand towards her face, his heart beating faster with every passing second. She offered no resistance, but still he was careful as he moved aside some of her hair that obscured her face. He set it to the side, and hanging it behind her ear, his fingers gently trailed down the edge of her chin. She looked up at him, and held his gaze. He tried his hardest to express all of his adoration for her in one stare while he admired the depths of her blue eyes. His lips curled into a faint smile, but hers did not. He suddenly gave a passing glance to her lips, so tangible, and yet so distant. _Don't you dare..._ he thought.

The moment was too perfect to pass up. Kent denied what his instincts told him, and he slowly moved towards her. Fiora closed her eyes, and her face tilted somewhat to the side. He stopped, but it was only for a moment. Her actions almost made him desert the embrace, but he held on to her, and continued his advance. Gently, ever so gently, his lips brushed against the smooth surface of her cheek. She didn't move. He planted another small kiss on the corner of her mouth, hoping and praying that she would open up to him. A shiver ran up her spine, and her eyes closed tightly, but still, she did not move. She wasn't being very open about it, but Kent knew she was resisting this. He knew she hated it. And he couldn't stand it anymore. He had already been forcing himself beyond reason, but something within him suddenly snapped, and refused to go any further. A painful silence poisoned the very air they breathed, and tension built and built and built between them. "Fiora..." She still didn't respond. _You bastard!_ The thought exploded in his mind, _Look what you've done! You fool! You've ruined everything! You-!_ "Fiora..." Further and further he fell from reality, his voice barely a whisper. He knew he was going mad. Ever since the attempt at intimacy had taken place on Fargus's ship during the previous night, he had begun to slide from sanity. The encounter with Lyn had further multiplied his troubles, and when he thought for sure Fiora had died, he had nearly been driven insane. And now, he wanted nothing more than to scream in frustration for an eternity. "Fiora!" He shouted her name through gritted teeth, and her eyes snapped open.

He stared at her for as long as he could, his hold on her shoulders tightening, and every aspect of his demeanor demanding her attention. Tears fell from his eyes as he finally let go of her. _It's too much... It's just too much... for both of us._ He blinked away the tears and took a long look into those beautiful eyes of hers. He remembered how they looked moments before their first kiss. He remembered how they looked moments before she fell asleep at the end of The Night. But he also remembered the way those eyes had avoided his gaze after that. He remembered averting his own eyes to keep from awkwardly staring at her. And more than anything else, he remembered weeping without end when he saw those eyes staring lifelessly at him.

_The Night... The Night... that's all there has ever been between us. It may have been amazing. It may have been unforgettable. But it was as good as things were going to get. Going on is pointless... it has to end..._

_No! Never. I know what I feel for this woman. I cherish her more than my own life, and I would rather die than leave her!_

_And does she feel the same thing for me? Did I ever think about her? Did I ever once consider how this affects her? I'm tearing her apart. I'm forcing this on her. I was from the beginning._

_No. I could never leave her. She means too much to me._

_If she really means so much to me, then I'll do the right thing and let her go._

_No... Please... I don't... I can't let her go..._

_I have to._

Kent closed his eyes, took in a long, deep breath, and began a walk down a path he knew he could not go back on. He looked at her and said, "I... Fiora, this has to stop."

She just stared at him, lines of confusion etched across her features. She said, "What do you-"

"This." He hastily blurted. Letting go of her and stepping back, he looked between them as he continued, "The whole thing. This entire... 'relationship'," He mocked the word, "or whatever you wish to call it. All of it just has to stop. Carrying on like we have is meaningless." He looked at her seriously, "It takes so much strength for me to touch you. Too much. But it still tears me apart to ignore you. Every night I dream of your smile, and every day, I try to avoid you. Fiora," he said, his voice raising, "it just doesn't work."

She continued to stare at him with an astonished look on her face. He waited for her to say something. Anything. "Fiora," he finally said, unable to stand the silence any longer, "please, try to-"

"Why are you saying this?" She suddenly asked, thunderclouds of unrest clashing within her.

It was visible on her face that she was not in the least amused by what he was saying, but he wouldn't back down, "Fiora, you need to unders-"

"Why?" She cut him off again, a distinct bite to her voice, "Tell me why, Kent! Why are you saying this?"

His answer came as a shout, "Because this cannot go on!" He didn't know why he made such an outburst, but he could feel his body pulsing with frustration and anger towards himself and the whole situation, "I'm not telling you what I want, I'm telling you the facts of what's going on, Fiora! Every day, I look at you and wonder why I can't just walk over and hold you. And every day, I realize it's for the same reason why you don't walk over and hold _me_. Fiora, almost every time I see you, you look away. And almost every time you look at me, _I_ look away. And anything more than that is just a forced act. Fiora, I don't like it any more than you do, but this is the way things are, and I can't see how they could ever change."

"How can you say this?" She asked. "How can you possibly just forget about the promises we-"

"No." He hastily answered, "No, Fiora. I haven't forgotten that. I _couldn't_ forget that. Fiora, I promised that you would be happy. But there is no happiness in the way things are now. That's why it has to end. Fiora..." His voice took on a softer tone, "I will always remember our friendship. I will never forget The Night, and I will never regret a moment I've spent with you. But this must end. Please, try to understand Fiora! I want only for you to be happy-"

"And how the _hell_ are you supposed to know what makes me happy!?" She spat the words at him, her posture fierce and powerful, and her eyes burning with outrage. "What makes you think you can tell me you genuinely want to get used to being with me one day and then tell me to get out of your life the next?"

"Fiora..."

"No! If you wanted me to be happy, you wouldn't push me away. If you wanted me to be happy, you wouldn't just choose my happiness for me." She could feel her hands clenching into fists of rage. "Kent, if you truly did desire for me to be happy, you wouldn't abandon everything between us just because things aren't going smoothly."

"Fiora, this is going nowhere. I hate it! I don't want it to be this way! But every time I think it over, I can see nothing but heartache and pain. Fiora," He placed his hand on her shoulder and as hard as it was for him, he looked her straight in the eye, "nothing can come of this. Nothing has ever come of-" His hand burst out in front of him just in time to stop the back of Fiora's fist aimed at his jaw. He was about to say something when he felt an elbow smash against his ribs. His teeth clenched from the pain as he grasped her outstretched wrist and twisted it hard. But before he could get the leverage he needed, he felt his ankle knocked out from under him, and he fell, straight backwards. _Oh, no..._ it was the last thing he thought before the back of his skull landed hard against the cobblestone floor while at the same time Fiora's elbow smashed into his forehead. His ears were ringing and he could barely see. He felt a sharp pain under his arm, and lashed out with a blind swipe to the air above him. He felt it connect, and readied another. But suddenly, he could not breathe, and he reached for the hands that were strangling him. Before he could reach them, they lifted him and slammed his skull once again against the floor.

"You bastard..." Fiora panted through clenched teeth, "You bastard...!" Her strong fingers crushed down on his flesh, as she watched his pathetic attempts to defend himself. She had the upper hand in this fight, and she planned to keep it that way.

_I've done it..._ he thought, _She hates me. I'll never again... Fiora hates me._

_Will she kill me...?_

_It doesn't matter. Just so long as this suffering is over._

_Where... where did it all go wrong...?_

_It went wrong the moment I jumped into this without thinking. It went wrong the moment The Night happened. It all went wrong the moment I thought things were right. Fiora..._

Strangely, he felt a weight being lifted off of him. He blinked a few times, the pain in his head still clouding his vision. Then, he realized Fiora's fingers were no longer around his neck. Slowly, he sat up, his head foggy with pain. He saw her standing at the other side of the tent, her back to him. Kent groggily pulled himself up to his feet, and the moment he rose, Fiora turned around. She was weeping. She was completely silent, but tears were pouring from her eyes harder than he had ever seen.

_He's just going to stand there? _She thought,_ After I nearly kill him, he's still there? Why, Kent? Why do you have to be such a fool? Why did I do that to you? Why?_ "Why?" She asked somberly, her voice weighed down with emotion. "Look at us. Why am I doing this to you, Kent?" Before he could say a thing, she quickly followed up, "How did we get here? What are we doing? Why are we carrying on? Why aren't either of us dead yet? Why... Why haven't we..." Without warning, she grasped him by the shoulders and kissed him. _To hell with it._ Her hands reached up to hold his face steady while she kissed him as assertively as she could. _I don't care anymore._ Fiora dwelt upon his lips for as long as she dared, a rush of memories slowly trickling back to her as she indulged herself in an almost forgotten sensation.

_I don't care what this does to our friendship. I don't care whether it's wrong. I don't care that I'm forcing myself. This is the only thing I..._

Her body was already against his and her heart was already pounding maddeningly in her throat. It felt like some of the warmth had left Kent since last she held him, but she didn't let up. Kent wasn't responding very much to her sudden turn of affection, still stunned by her actions in the first place. But without the passing of another moment, her lips suddenly left his and she looked at him. She didn't know what she was expecting to see on his features, but when her gaze caught his own, all she could see was amazement. Gently, her arms laid upon his shoulders as she leaned close to him, unable to hide the blush on her face. Slowly, her hand trailed down to his chest, and she rested her palm upon him to hear the long forgotten beat of his heart. It was as fast and uncontrolled as her own, but somehow she found the courage to once more look him straight in the eyes. With her voice slightly trembling, she said, "Kent... _Everything_ has come of this."

It seemed like only the passing of another erratic heartbeat by the time their lips were dancing together, if a bit clumsily, and he had finally decided to embrace her. The experience was for the both of them little more than the mashing of lips and fingers grasping at shoulders and clutches of hair, but it was their moment, and that was all they cared about. Kent could feel tears rushing to his eyes. He let them roll down his cheeks, absorbed completely by the woman in his arms. _I can't believe I forgot how this feels. I can't believe I forgot what it felt like to hold you, Fiora... How long has it been? How long have I denied myself this? How long have _we_ denied _each other_ this? I can't remember. So warm... This is so warm. _She_ is so warm. Fiora, a lifetime isn't long enough to tell you how much you mean to me._

_Why won't it change...?_ She thought as she fell to her knees and he followed her to the ground to continue their kiss. _Why do I still feel this way? He's right here with me. But even with all of his warmth, and all of his affection, I still feel the same way. So empty inside. So black, and cold. So filled with hatred and disgust! Isn't this the first real kiss we've shared in over a month? Oh, why did I kiss him on the battlefield today? Why did I push him out of the way of the corpse of that wyvern that would have crushed him? Why did I save his life when I was only just being brought back to my own?_

_Do I love him...?_

_Such a strong word. One we used so often to explain feelings that we... couldn't understand? Do I really feel something like that for this man? I certainly did a while ago. Or rather... at least enough to sleep with him._

_Why do I have to think of it like that? Why must I always think back on The Night in shame? Wasn't anything about that special? Wasn't there something special about the way that two people... no... _he_ and _I_, realized we felt something for each other? Something strong, something different, something so... intimate. And then we just came together. We didn't have to say anything. Our thoughts were exactly the same, and our hearts beat out the same melody. It was almost romantic. It was almost like a dream... a dream I hadn't known I was hoping would come true. But it did come true... and it was beautiful._

She could feel him pulling away the string from around her forehead and run his fingers through her hair as it fell down around her face like an aquamarine curtain. She could taste the same desire on his lips that she felt within herself, and it wasn't long before a sigh escaped her._ I don't care if it's just a dream... _She broke off the kiss just long enough to catch her breath before meeting him once more,_ I never want to wake up from this._

With the slow passing of minutes, just kissing each other as they knelt on the hard stone floor, Kent eventually drew himself away from Fiora. He could no longer hear the rain falling on their tent. He could no longer feel the cold air. All he could do was gaze for an eternity into her eyes, listen to her breathing, and feel her fingers gently massaging the back of his neck. "Fiora..." He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. He leaned in further, right next to her ear and whispered, "Thank you." She nudged his temple with hers, which quickly developed into another kiss on the corner of their lips. The ease of it all was simply astonishing. All he had to do was want to touch her, and she would hold him. All he had to do was look at her, and she would smile. All he had to do was move just a little closer, and she would kiss him. And just hours ago, he had equated eye contact with her with torture. A thought flickered through his mind, and a request revealed itself to him. Something he _needed_ to ask. He broke off their kiss and looked her straight in the eyes. "Fiora..." He faltered for a moment, unsure of how exactly he should phrase this, "Please, stay with me ton-"

She held her fingers up to his lips, and he became quiet. "Kent, you don't even have to ask." She got the words out quickly, her goal being to make this entire process as simple as possible. She gave a brief chuckle and a somewhat timid blush before moving in and kissing him on the neck. He felt his blood run hot at her sensual touch, and he couldn't help but smile. It felt marvelous to once again be this close to her. She felt so very affectionate, but not calm at all. She was vibrant, sizzling, and rich like the taste of some exotic spice. It was a flavor he quickly gained an addiction to.

After half an hour, they still knelt there on the ground in each other's arms. They broke off for a moment to take another break. Neither one of them was quite sure how to proceed from here, but they seemed to both be content where they were. As Kent slowly caught his breath, he opened his eyes to get another look at Fiora. But against all odds, and in spite of every sensation from Fiora he could feel, all he could see was Lyn's face. She looked up at him with those big, pretty eyes that glimmered at him beyond her emerald hair, and smiled at him. His eyes shut in an instant. But then all he could hear were Priscilla's screams, which soon became his own cries of sorrow when he thought he had truly lost Fiora. All he could think about were the awful nightmares he'd had about her. The way he watched Fiora's body slowly torn apart, or strangled by his own hands, or crawling through muddy city streets slowly starving to death, or confessing love for him before dying in his arms as a burning house collapsed in on both of them. And then, there was that one unshakeable memory he knew would live with him for the rest of his life. The memory of her face, staring at him with cold, lifeless eyes. Dead. He had failed her. Despite everything, he had truly failed her and lost her forever, and it was only due to the mercy of chance that she had lived through it all. "Kent, is something wrong?"

Fiora's voice made him snap his eyes open. She was only a few inches away from him and snuck a quick kiss on his cheek the moment his eyelids parted. There was no illusion before him. All he could see was the familiar face of a woman he adored more than anything else in the world. There was a dash of concern in her eyes, but a smile was still upon her tangible lips. "No... nothing." He said, trying to fight back the flood of tears rushing to his eyes. "I just..."

"What...?" She affectionately traced his cheek with her fingers.

He wrapped his own fingers around her hand and kissed it. "I just... I'm glad you're back, Fiora." He knew he didn't sound very convincing. He knew he was mostly talking just to distract him from the pain he felt. That's why he was so amazed when she seemed to melt right in front of him, and in the blink of an eye, she had pinned him to the ground, showering him with kisses. He responded as only he knew how, and closed his eyes as his thoughts went adrift.

_It hurts so much... It's the worst pain I've ever had to endure! But I will continue to love you... I will. Besides... I don't want to feel alone anymore._

After the passing of an amount of time that was both trivial and unknown; they found themselves sprawled upon Fiora's cot amongst a tangle of discarded garments and sheets, holding each other closer than they had in what seemed like ages. Feeling tears once again streak down Fiora's face, Kent broke their most recent kiss and looked down to her with a quiet solemnness in his eyes. "Be strong..." He whispered, a reassuring smile on his face despite the heartache that every one of her falling tears brought him.

She looked at the tears in his eyes. One fell down and splattered on her cheek, but she ignored it. A smile graced her lips as if in defiance of every horrible thing going on in the world outside of their private, frail little bubble, "We are..." She said. They kissed away each other's tears and dove back into their private ocean of bliss, evading the harsh storms of never-ending fear and pain and suffering that were raining down upon them in torrents. In well paced time, they drowned in the fire of their rekindled intimacy, and it soon ignited into a blazing inferno that consumed every aspect of their being and burned brighter and more silently than any of the stars that shone down from the sky.

It was almost like traveling back to memories of long past. For tonight, like once before, they had only each other. And tonight, that was all that mattered.

FIN!

Special thanks to Gunlord500 for beta reading for me.

Yay! Finally, they're back together! ...or are they? If you think this is the end, you're dead wrong, because this fic still has a good half-dozen more chapters to go before it's through. But all the same, Kent and Fiora, back together? I want to know how you feel about this turn of events as well as this chapter in general. So I implore you, REVIEW! Comments on my work have always kept me going.

I've got my senior year of high school ahead of me now, and the next chapter still needs a lot of work. But I'll work hard on the next chapter, Dawn, post it around Christmas if I can. And of course, you can check my bio page for occasional updates on the chapter. And remember, reviews have always given me a little nudge back to my keyboard to keep writing. Cheers!


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